The best of everything
by Waxa
Summary: Paige deserves the best of everything, now she thinks she has it, but with her past coming back everything its about to change, whether for good or for worse.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the majority of the characters.**_

_**So a heads up: This a Paily story, but it has some building up to do, because I put their last goodbye as the last scene of 5x03, so here, enjoy.**_

_**Flashbacks are in Italics. **_

* * *

"You deserve the best of everything"

Those were the last words Emily said to her, and they broke her heart all over again, she had everything and then she felt so lost.

"That's what I had" now those were her last words to her.

* * *

"Hey babe, where's my phone charger? I can't find it anywhere! Ugh did you put it in the red bag? Is my passport there too? Ugh why aren't you answering me woman!" Paige said to her fiancée, she was panicking as usual, whenever she had to leave the state without her, and now even more because she couldn't be involved in the preparations of their wedding.

She was in the last year of college and she was working for her fiancée's father, she's going to take his place after he retires, and she's the only qualified for the position, so now she's going to New York to talk with new investors for the company, as a sort of a test. If she succeeded then the company was hers if she didn't, well if it comes to that, they would figure it out.

"Hey…hey breathe, everything is in your handbag, your so cute right now, come on we have to leave right now if you don't want to miss your flight" Nina responded 5 seconds later emerging from the kitchen with two coffees and keys in her hands, she was about to leave the house, but Paige stopped her and kissed her.

Paige felt at ease the moment she kissed those sensuous and incredible lips, she couldn't be more happy, even now after 3 years of knowing the girl in front of her, the girl who pull her together again, the girl who gave her heart back and was taking good care of it, she didn't thought it was possible back then, but now she knows that even if your heart it's in a million pieces there's always a way to mend it. Of course Nina did it; it seemed that they were perfect for each other since the first time they met.

* * *

_"Hey Paige, what about that cute brunette over there, she's been checking you out all night, go over there now" Abby told her best friend, who was starting to walk towards the wrong girl. Well the place was packed and it was understandably so that Paige got confused._

_Paige was slowly making her way to the girl who wouldn't leave her eyes, she resembled someone who Paige couldn't forget still, she had a dark wavy hair and long legs. _

_When she was getting closer she looked back to see Abby for support, but she only encountered a wary look and a shake of her head, and she realized that she was not talking about that girl, but it was too late and she bumped into a table, resulting on a few spilled drinks and 4 pair of eyes on her and one of them haunted her, it was of course the girl she's been eyeing for the whole night, the resemblance disappeared, because of her blue eyes, those blue eyes that never left hers as she began to apologize._

_"I'm so sorry I..I hey, I'm Paige, sorry about that, I was distracted, I mean my friend told me to come here and I don't know why I came here I just…do you want to go out with me" Paige addressed to the blue eyed girl "I mean, you've been watching me right so that means you want to go out or …" Paige ranted until Abby interrupted her hopeless friend._

_"Hey sorry about my friend disaster, she can't muster being in front of a group of beautiful ladies" Abby winked "so next round it's on us, have a good night"._

_ Abby then dragged Paige to their table again whispering to her idiotic friend were was the girl she was talking about, but both of them cut their conversation short when the girl with piercing blue eyes and an incredible smile spoke "So even if I wasn't the girl who was watching you at first, now I cannot look at anyone but you" Her dashing smile grew bigger when she saw Paige smile too. _

_"I'm Nina, so Paige I would gladly go out with you or….yeah if you still want to" Paige nodded promptly and from then on they've been inseparable._

* * *

"You have everything with you, don't forget to call me as soon as you land…and to call the bake shop to make an appointment, now I trust in your sweet tooth as I expect you to trust me with other things for the wedding ok, don't stress yourself" Nina clarified as she was reaching up for the last bag from the car, then they went hand in hand to the entrance of the airport.

They shared one last kiss before Paige said her last goodbye, not before looking back one last time as she always did, but in that second something caught her eye, well it's safe to say that someone caught her eye and in that moment everything went still as she watched her too and a flash of memories and dreams and hopes came crashing down on her like it was the first time ever, like the very first time she fell in love with Emily Fields.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the majority of the characters**_

_**Flashbacks are in italics**_

* * *

Chapter 2

She closed her eyes for a second, and when she opened them again there was no one there, her mind still was playing her tricks, but it was a long time coming from the last time she thought she saw her or thought of her.

As she was sitting on the plane, she began to think about her past, but quickly shut it down as she began to plan her next move on the big contract.

She was going to meet the layer of the company, and she heard it was a though deal coming on, so she prepared and prepared until the arrival.

On the door of the airport there was a man waiting for her, she entered the car the agency sent for her and she went to meet the future of her company.

When she arrived she was in a room with 3 more clients who were looking for the same deal, she began to grow nervous as she heard her name called out.

When she entered, she went for the only chair available not looking up until she heard a loud gasp from the other end of the table, when she finally looked, she saw none other than Spencer Hastings, as she stood up and went to her side to give her a long hug.

"It's been a long time McCullers, too long for my liking, how are you?" Spencer said as she finished the hug.

"Yeah I'm sorry" Paige dipped her head, she really was sorry

"Don't worry about it" Spencer smiled reassuringly.

"Wait a second so you're the scary lawyer everyone's afraid of, if they knew about things that I know…." Paige mocked her and she received a smack on her arm.

"Hey watch it, I have a reputation to maintain" Spencer countered back, and went back to her seat.

"Well I wouldn't even dream about putting your reputation at risk if it meant that along the way mine would be involved" Paige snorted.

They seemed to be lost in catching up that neither went on about the deal, until Spencer's secretary came in and announced her next appointment, but they were immediately reschedule.

They went to grab a cup of coffee as they were talking about their achievements and their lives, it was a small chat until their love life came into their conversation, but neither of them backed away, They truly wanted to discuss every aspect of their lives.

"So at the end who ended up with the brilliant mind of the one and only little Hastings, that's a big radiant 8mm ring" Paige added as she momentary lost her thought on the ring.

"Would you look at that, how did you know the carat of the ring and its weight, and if you must know it's been the same boy whom I feel in love with, since high school" Spencer said and added sadly "You know Toby really misses you, as well as I, please let us be a part of your life again, we lost you too" Spencer reached for Paige's hands and she nodded understanding the feeling.

"I'm sorry for leaving…you and the others, but I needed to get my life back, I have it now…so to answer one of your questions, I know the carat of the ring because I spent a lot of time looking for the perfect one, for my fiancée, and I have one too" Paige smiled as she put her hand out, revealing her ring to a shocked Spencer.

"Oh my god Paige, I'm so happy for you, I've never pictured you having to be the one who wasn't on her knees and on bottom of your plans" Spencer laughed while Paige blushed.

But smiling she replied quickly "well I'm always on top…of plans of course" Paige winked at her and continued "she was indeed on her knees, but I was too, it was kind of mutual…it's actually a funny story" she began to tell her the story of how she met Nina and all of their plans and finally the proposal.

* * *

_"Your mom and I are so proud of you, you accomplished so many things over the years, you got your dream job, you got your dream girl, we are so happy that you got out this town and the problems that came with that mess of a gir…" Nick was saying but Paige interrupted the well-known rambling that it always ended in bashing her friends and the girl she used to love._

_"Yeah dad, I got out in time and now I have the best of everything" _

_She always thought about that particular line. _

_Deep down she wasn't sure yet if it was true, there was a time she knew she had it, now she thinks that she is pretty close to it. _

_"So speaking of the best, dad I want…I want to propose to Nina, I know it has only been 3 years but I want her" After a long moment of silence that made Paige nervous, her parents finally screamed in delight and happiness. _

_"Finally, it was about time!" her father screamed to the phone, and her mother on the background was already buying tickets to see her daughter and her future daughter in law, after a moment her mom picked up the phone._

_"My baby, were coming to help you, I'm so proud of you, I can't wait to tell everyone here, Spencer Hastings always asks me about you, so she will be one of the first ones to know. Oh I have to call your aunts and the designer for your suit or are you going to wear a dress I…" her mother excitedly was telling her daughter of all her plans until the later cut her off._

_"MOM! Calm down, I just said that I wanted to, I've never said I already did and she said yes, I don't even know if she would want to…" Paige was about to tell her fears but her mother stopped her "Oh honey of course she is going to say yes! Are you nuts, she's crazy about you!"_

_"Ok I think I need your help with all of the preparations, I already asked her parents and they said yes, so tell me when are you planning on coming so I could pick you up from the airport…" Paige talked to her mother for a few more minutes and when they were saying goodbye she remembered what her mother said about Spencer._

_"So mom, as much as I love you talking about me and my personal life because I'm so open to people talking about me, I…I" Paige started to tell her. _

_"Don't be sarcastic young lady, and spill it" her mom replied back. _

_Paige laughed, "sorry, I mean, I don't want it to be a public knowledge until its certain, and I don't want specially Spencer to know because she will tell Em… to the girls and for now I want it to be private, so please" Paige was begging and her mother agreed. _

_At the back of her mind she thought of Emily instead of Nina saying yes, with all of their friends and families around them, but the thought was quickly shot down by someone trying to get in, she knew that Nina sometimes forgets about her keys, so she went to open it, and of course she found her girlfriend carrying a bag of groceries and her phone on her ear, while she picked up the groceries she watched Nina move through the living room while she was squealing in delight at her phone, minutes later she went to the kitchen were Paige was._

_"So what got you so happy? Besides me of course" Paige told her smiling, she reached for her kiss that was welcomed with a grin "your mom just called me to-" the minute she heard, the words 'your mom' Paige chocked the water she just drank._

_Nina handed her a napkin and continued "yeah you're right I'm so happy to see my girlfriend spiting water just because I mentioned her mother, well she told me that they're coming to check on the apartment and to spend some time together, so I told her I was picking them from the airport and that on Friday we were all having dinner on my father yacht" Nina told her as she reclaimed another kiss._

_"You don't mind picking them from the airport?" Paige asked._

_"Not at all, I want some time with them, she told me you would do it but I insisted. What, are you afraid that she will show me those baby pictures of you again?" They laughed together when they remembered those days. _

_"Well you already seen all of them, even my nude ones so" Paige said._

_ "I love them by the way, but I much prefer your new ones" Nina told her with a wink, while Paige did her head did, now she had a new idea for them to spend the day._

_"You know I would like to take new pictures…so do you want to help?" she said while going to their bedroom, discarding her clothes along the way and laughing at her girlfriend face._

_"Hi, Nina here, please leave a message after the…" the usual greeting of the voicemail appeared and Paige left a message. _

_"Hey, I woke up and you were gone, how was my idea to film us instead of taking pictures, I seriously think you…" Nina cut her girlfriend by picking up her phone _

_"Hey babe, you're on speaker, and your parents are here with me in the car" _

_"Oh my god" was only Paige response._

_"Hey honey, yeah hello to you too, so as much as I want to lecture you young lady I want to talk to your girlfriend, so we will see you soon" Paige's mother responded and the line went dead._

_Paige was never going to hear the end of it, but it was worth it! _

_Meanwhile on the car, Nina drove them to a small cafe, where she asked for Paige's hand. They were so happy they said yes, their baby was going to get married!_

_It was Monday, and Paige went out with her parents to buy the ring, she spend all morning and afternoon watching vendors smiling at her and making her head dizzy with designs and cuts and prices._

_It occurred to her of asking for her Grandpa Allan's ring that he gave to her grandma, but she decided against it, she didn't know why, but she only thought about it one time and she decided that the ring will always belong to Emily. _

_She couldn't get away with forgetting the subject at the end, because her father asked her "Why didn't you asked me to bring the ring? I thought you would but you never did?"_

_"I…I didn't remember about that" she lied and continued "I mean we are here so we may proceed with this" when she finished, she spotted a beautiful cushion ring, that in the end, it was the one._

_Then it was Friday, they were getting ready, both girls were extremely nervous about their plans. _

_Paige was fixing the collar of her white blouse when her father entered her room holding a box "I brought the ring, I know this was meant to be for someone else and as much I don't like the idea of it, it's your decision. If you want to close that door and want to move on finally, your mother and I will be very happy to see that ring on Nina's hands but, if not, then we will understand because when something is meant for someone, it has to be that way, even if it turns out good or not. We love you very much, and we are so happy to see this new chapter of your life honey" he finished it with a kiss on Paige forehead._

_When it was time to go, Paige held back for a minute, she was thinking about the huge step she was going to take with Nina. _

_She thought she had move on and now her future was with Nina, but as she looked at the ring in her hands she realized that the ring belong to the girl who will always have her heart, and she couldn't stand the chance to see it on the "wrong girl", and if by any chance she gets to see her again, she will know that she made the right decision on keep in it, if they ever found a way to each other again._

_Nina's parents and Paige's parents as well as some of their closest friends were on the main deck, after dining, they went outside, waiting for the big reveal, with a glass of red wine each._

_Meanwhile the lovely couple decided to go to the upper deck, where they encountered many lighted candles and a few arrange of flowers, neither of them knowing they both did that._

_"So everything went perfect don't you think?" Nina asked._

_"Yeah but we got a long night, and I think I want to have long nights like this by your side" Paige said, something clicked as she watched Nina's face and she didn't waste any time and went down on one knee "I want to be by your side every day of my life and I want to take every step possible with you, I love you" Paige pulled the box and opened it "So would you make me more happy and marry me?" Paige said with fresh stream of tears and a trembling lip._

_Nina was utterly surprised that the first thing she said was "No" and Paige didn't know what to do or what to say, for a moment, she felt relieved because it meant that she was for someone else, but then again she felt that she could fight for her, but then Nina laughed and brushed it off with getting down on one knee too and mimicking the same movements of Paige, she retrieve the box from her hand and handed it to Paige "I mean Yes! But you big idiot, you ruined my proposal, so my love, would YOU do me the honor to be my wife forever?" they both had tears and wide smiles, and both of them say yes between multiple kisses. _

_A couple of minutes later they were engulfed by many arms and congratulations from their parents and friends, and the night went on, with the lovers enjoying each other and this new stage of their lives._


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the majority of the characters.**_

_**Flashbacks are in italics**_

* * *

"Wow McCullers, it's really amazing how everything turned out for you, now I want to meet the woman who makes you smile like you used to when you were with Em…" Spencer stopped after she realized her slip but seeing that Paige didn't flinch she took it as a good sign and continued "I mean so when is the wedding? Am I invited, I sure hope so"

"Yeah I hope you meet her as well, she always wanted to meet you" Paige revealed and Spencer smiled.

"So I definitely want you and the girls there, so how's everyone?"

"Count Toby and I in, and as for the girls, well I think everyone will be delighted to hear the news. Well Aria is living here in New-York and she has an art gallery and a studio, she loves it, we should go out with her too, before you head back" Spencer replied.

"Yeah I know" Paige replied and Spencer looked at her in confusion so she explained "We've been talking recently, and I saw her, a couple of weeks ago, so yeah that sounds like a good idea, I want to see her again" Paige agreed.

"Why hasn't she told me?" Spencer feigned being hurt, but she was extremely curious as to why Aria didn't tell her.

* * *

_"Hey Nina, these seem familiar, who took them? I love it" Paige said as she contemplated two beautiful paintings, they were two shots of New-York and Los Angeles at night, with the stars above, a rich picture because it's difficult to watch the stars in both cities._

_"It's from this independent artist who I met on a trip to New-York, she took the picture that's above my bed frame, I love her spirit and she captivated mine, she's amazing! You have to meet her, she's coming tomorrow because I want her to take the pictures at our wedding, you will like her don't worry" Nina responded._

_Paige was mesmerized to say at least until little kisses distracted her from her distraction. Nina was paying attention to Paige's neck, leaving traces of her lipstick and Paige was no longer thinking about the familiar feeling and connection to this artist, instead she wasn't thinking at all._

_She couldn't take it anymore so she grabbed Nina's face and kissed her gently at first but then it became rough and needy, they couldn't keep their hands still, they spent hours making love that night, they were lost on each other and they were in a happy place._

_The next morning, Paige was getting back from her classes earlier than expected because she knew the photographer was coming to her apartment, she expected to find this tall and hipster girl with a floral shirt and a good camera, but instead she was seeing none other than Aria._

_She was entertained by her thoughts, because she wasn't far from the familiar taste of the pictures, she was seeing her for the first time after everything, hell she was the first one of all the group, she couldn't stand the awkwardness that feel onto the room, and went to hug the shocked little girl._

_"Aria, it's so good to see you, I missed you, I like your photos so much, how are you?" Paige said to the still shocked Aria. _

_Fortunately, she composed quickly "Paige, am I in the right apartment? I've missed you too! Where have you been, actually now I see….so wait a second you're getting married to Nina?" Aria responded, and Paige just nodded. _

_They were catching up until they heard the door opening and Nina entering the apartment, she looked at the two girls who were awfully close to each other and with big smiles on their faces. _

_Paige stood up to meet her and help her with the takeout, she kissed her deeply and went to the kitchen, only to return with a bottle of wine and 3 glasses, and without the food. _

_Nina went to the couch to see Aria, but Paige pulled her back, and stood right beside her._

_"So Nina, she's Aria, one of my friends from back home, and Aria this is my future wife Nina" Paige was happy making the introductions she never thought in a million years she would do, forgetting for a moment they already met. _

_Both of them understood that this was something that only Paige would want to do "I know you two know each other from a more formal place, but now you two can know each other as part of my life", Aria and Nina smiled at Paige's words. _

_They talked all night, Aria told them her adventures, and they their story. At the end, they decided that they couldn't have Aria as their photographer because they wanted her to be part of their wedding as a friend, and Aria gladly accepted._

* * *

"Hey wait a second how can you talk to and see her and not me, and why did she never mention this!?" Spencer asked again, she was deeply hurt by her friend keeping it a secret from her.

"Don't get mad, I asked her not to tell you guys, it was only last week" Paige calmed her.

"I thought I was going to be the one who you would keep tabs on you know" Paige sighed and nodded, "After everything we've been through" Spencer kept rambling on "You know what, it doesn't matter, you're here, and now we can make up from lost time" Spencer replied softly.

"So how's my favorite blonde? Last I heard she was in Montecito with Caleb" Paige asked.

"She's in California with Caleb, they eloped and they're going to have a baby" she grinned after seeing the shock in the brunette's face "she has a great business and she's very happy too"

"I can't believe it!, well actually I can, wow…that's amazing, I want to talk to them" Paige smiled as she heard all the news Spencer had of the girls, but the only person Spencer missed to tell her, was Emily, and she couldn't wait to hear from her so she asked.

"So how's Emily doing? I mean I don't know if she would pick up if I call her to invite her to my wedding I…"

"That probably wouldn't be a good idea, I mean she still….Oh sorry I have to take this" Spencer apologized and picked up the call as soon as she saw the name on the screen.

Paige was confused and freaking out a little bit.

Did Spencer say it won't be a good idea to invite Emily to her wedding because she still had feelings for her or some other thing? Now she wished they weren't freakishly interrupted by her phone.

"Yeah Em, just calm down" Paige stopped all her movements and tried to hear the other end of the conversation, but she could only hear Spencer's side "I think you were delusional….Yeah maybe just maybe, you should turn down the drinking….Well I'm pretty sure it wasn't….because she's here with me!..." Oh no, did Spencer say that she was with her, did that mean that Emily was telling Spencer about her, she had many questions but Spencer kept talking.

No Em, I will not! Ugh!" she screamed the last parts as she rubbed her temples and stared at Paige as if nothing happened.

"So that was Emily, she's officially in California, she will work with Hanna for a while...she hasn't been so well, but yeah a different environment will do her well" Spencer explained "well it's kind of late, I should go home, where are you staying again? Maybe I could drop you off, or maybe if you want you could stay with us" Spencer said, but her suggestion met a rejection from the girl whose ghost seemed to appear again, Spencer sighed and took Paige's hand for the tenth time "I know you want to know many things, and the answers will come eventually, but for now, let's go"

Paige could deal with that.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the majority of the characters.  
**_

* * *

"Emi, you've been working hard on getting what everyone expects from you, but you don't know what you want for yourself, and that's not living" Wayne Fields carefully said to her daughter who was again, in a pool of tears.

"I know dad, it's just I know what I want and that's Paige, I had everything with her and now I just don't even know what to do, you know living by expectations it's the only thing I know how to do!" Emily responded with a new set of tears and a heart even more broken after the confession.

"I thought that I taught you to fight for what you want, you know that nothing comes in a silver platter, you have to reach for your dreams and for what you want, you have to start making amends, and at the end if it works then it was meant to be, if not you will be free to live without questions" Wayne told her daughter softly, he hugged her and then kissed the top of her head, he whispered a lot of things until she fell asleep.

The next morning Emily woke up with a headache from the alcohol she inherited the night before, she saw an aspirin and a glass of water on her bedside table, and she took it immediately, she went downstairs were her parents were, as she was about to enter she heard the small talk that her parents were having.

"I know Wayne, but this has to stop, she's drinking too much, she's been skipping classes, and she doesn't even go to her swim practices anymore, and god even knows what else she's doing" Pam told her husband, she reached out to his embrace.

"She's a grown woman, she knows what she's doing honey, we can't tell her what to do anymore, we can only be there for her, I'm worried too, she's losing herself, and I'm losing my baby girl but the only thing we can do is be there …" Wayne kept talking but Emily couldn't hear more, she knew she had reach a point where she needed to do something, and in a flashback, the conversation from the night before seemed clear, and now she knew what she had to do.

She grabbed her phone and dialed one of the few numbers she knew by heart, after two rings the woman behind the other line picked up "You know how many missed calls and messages you have from me! I needed you! I was having an existential crisis, because my pants don't fit anymore, and Caleb said that I needed to buy sweatpants! How dare he! Ugh now what am I going to do, I need your drunk ass to come here and help me" Hanna's perky voice came to a halt and continued "hey are you there Emily, or you just butt ass drunk dialed me again"

Emily couldn't stop the fit of laughter as her friend ended her rant "Oh Hanna I'm sorry, let me make up for it ok, so how about I'll go there and help you?"

"Are you serious? Please tell me you're not joking?!" Hanna exclaimed.

"Yes Hanna I'm buying my ticket right now, I've missed you so much!" Emily responded "I have to pack and tell my parents my plans so I will call you back in a minute" Emily ended the call, and went downstairs.

Both of her parents look up to see the Emily they used to know, and they were baffled.

"What's making you smile like that honey, I hope you had a good night sleep, I will go make breakfast for you" Pam kept it simple, but she wanted to know about the sudden change in her daughter more than everything.

"Hey mom, dad, don't worry I'm on my way out, well I'm going to LA to be with Hanna for a while, I think I need a change of scenery, so I'm going to pack now, I just wanted to let you know." Emily said, when she was leaving the room she heard her father calling her back, she knew what was coming next but still she needed to hear him one more time.

"Hey, hey not so fast young lady, I trust your intentions and your decisions, but be careful, you're not only playing with your heart, so be aware, and fight for what you want and if it works…"

"It's because it's meant to be, and if not I'll be free to live without the questions" Emily finished her father's quote with a hug, she went again to her room to pack and to call Hanna.

After an hour of packing and putting everything in her suitcases she called her blonde friend again an after the first ring she answered "I thought it was too good to be true" Hanna sighed to the phone.

"What are you talking about Hanna?" Emily asked.

"I know you've been through so much, but maybe you could come here and see a new perspective of things, and…" Hanna began but Emily didn't let her finish "Hanna I'm coming, I was just packing my things, I'm leaving right now to the airport, so are you going to pick me up or what?"

"Yay, oh my god Emily were going to do so many things, I already planned our next couple of weeks together, I mean if you're ok with helping me at work, we could do so much more" Hanna excitedly told her best friend.

"Actually I was planning on doing everything you wanted me to do, I seriously need a distraction, but I need your brilliant mind for another thing…" The silence that fell upon them was new and weird, and Emily knew that she had Hanna's attention.

"I want to get Paige back…"

Few minutes passed but Emily didn't continue so Hanna did "You know Em in other circumstances I would be glad to help, but it sure took you long enough to figure that out, it may not be a good idea, I haven't heard from her and neither the girls, so I don't want you to get your hopes up…" Hanna explained but hearing Emily sigh like she always did, she changed her mind "but what the hell, I will help you, just come here already so we can plan everything" Hanna ended the conversation and Emily went for her mother's car. She was really grateful for having Hanna as a friend, even if things don't work out with Paige, she still had her friends, and she always will.

On the way to the airport she knew her mother was trying to tell her something but she always refrained herself of talking

"Ok mom what is it?"

"It's…well you father told me what you said to him last night, and if that's the reason you're going to California well I don't need to tell you that it's a bad idea because you know it too" Pam revealed.

"No mom it's not just that, I didn't go before because I was scared, but dad said that I needed to live my life the way I wanted it to, so I want to live it, with her, I made a mistake and I'm living through the consequences of that, but now I know what I want. I thought that you wanted me to be happy and to stop all the things that I've been doing" Emily stated, she nervously added the last part, when she saw her mother nodding softly, she knew that she had her support now.

They were already at the entrance of the airport when Pam took Emily's hands and spoke very soothingly "I just don't want to lose you again, the last time it was because you ended things and look how it got you, I don't want to think what would happened if she was the one to break it this time, but if this is something you need to move on, then go, but be careful please, I love you honey, and greet Hanna and Caleb for me" Pam said goodbye to her daughter and Emily went to board the flight.

She spent most of the trip thinking about her parents words, she knew they were right, she needed to fight for what she wants, but if at some point there's nothing to fight for then she would know she did all she could, but at the end she needed to move on, whether alone or with the love of her live, Paige.

She thought about her the entire flight, she began to wonder if she was still swimming, or if she was the same charismatic and loving girl she was, she wondered many things, but there was one, that it was bothering her, is Paige single? If not, is she happy? What would she do if she's not single and she's married or something like that? Even worse, if she's with someone but she's not happy? She thought about every scenario possible, the entire flight.

She was walking to the entrance of the airport, where she was supposed to meet Hanna, but she was struggling with the bags that ended on the floor when a guy threw her off balance.

The bags could wait, Emily thought, because now her mind was clouded of images of Paige, because she was there, she was seeing her.

Paige was smiling but she had a concerned face on her, her first instinct was going where Paige was, to help her with whatever was troubling her but she stopped because Paige wasn't alone she was with a tall, skinny dark haired girl, she watched them go to the departure entrance, and fumed when the slim girl did what she intended to do with the concern face, she kissed her, and all of her world crumbled, she stood there not knowing what to do, she was about to leave but she saw the girl leave and Paige going in the opposite way, somehow Paige looked back and when she did, she saw her, she couldn't pin point Paige face at the moment, and she panicked, she took the chance to leave, when Paige being Paige closed her eyes for a second.

She bolted out of the place and she was outside in a second, she waited and her patience was running low, but before she could lose control Hanna arrived, she jumped in the front seat and yelled "DRIVE"!

On the way to Hanna's house, she made the blond girl pull over on a liquor store, she bought a bottle and Hanna didn't say a word the entire time, and it was surprising, given that she always had an opinion. When they arrived, Emily went straight to the guest room where she was going to stay, she left Hanna worried and pacing in the living room.

Hanna on her part couldn't stand it and went to check on Emily, who an hour later was on the floor with a bottle in one hand and a photo of Paige in the other.

She took a seat next to Emily, and she wrapped her arm around her best friend who was sobbing "Han I saw her, she was at the airport and she wasn't alone, I'm too late, and she….she seemed happy, until she saw me, but she didn't came over she just…stood there, and I just ran away, I think it was a bad idea coming here" Emily said as she drank the alcohol she bought.

Hanna couldn't stand the smell and picked up the bottle and threw it to the trash.

"Hey I didn't finish that, give it back" Emily protested.

"No, I'm tired Emily and the smell is making me dizzy…so you're just going to give up? Like that! you're pathetic, seriously get it together Em! So what, she's with someone, you couldn't expect she will be single forever, do you know if she's happy? NOO, you just saw her what 2 seconds and you made conclusions, and what did you think, that if she knew it was you, she will come running to your arms?" an angry Hanna yelled to a semi drunk Emily.

"I don't know what to do" she felt sick and went to the nearest trashcan to let out the alcohol, Hanna went to help her, she grabbed Emily's hair out of her face and she rubbed her back

"I know it hurts Em, but for now you need time to clear your thoughts, without alcohol this time, you need to put yourself first, before putting all this drama as a priority, you weren't ready that's it, but now you have to be, you need to pull yourself together and then figure what you want to do, and I will be by your side all the time, but as for right now I can't because you stink" Hanna said while she tried to leave.

Emily stopped her advances, she couldn't let her leave without apologizing "Thank you Han, and I'm sorry for everything, I know I'm not a good friend right now, but I will be, I promise"

"Well you better! I really need our Hannily time…oh and before I forget, you need to call Spence, I kind of told her our plans before all of this happened, and she said she needed to talk to you, so…good luck!"

Emily knew it was time to face another voice of reason, and with alcohol in her system she knew she could take anything that Spencer says. So she called and immediately the husky voice of her other best friend resonated.

"What do you think you're doing Emily!? You can't go there to mess with someone else's life"

"What? I'm here for me, but if my plans work, maybe I wouldn't be messing with someone else, maybe I would be helping them! But you know it's good to know you think so highly of me!" Emily claimed back, slushing her words a little bit, but Spencer was used to it, so she understood her just fine.

"Yeah Em, just calm down" Spencer tried to calm a very tipsy Emily, she could hear how drunk she was.

"Don't tell me to calm down when you're practically bashing me, and I saw her, she looked I don't know but…" Emily continued, but the scoff on the other line made her stop.

"I think you're delusional" Spencer sniggered "and maybe, just maybe, you should turn down the drinking"

"I'm not drunk!" Emily yelled "and you can't tell me again what I need to do! And yes I saw her!"

"Well I'm pretty sure it wasn't" Spencer countered back.

"Why are you so sure huh! You weren't here" Emily still yelled but she stopped as soon as she heard Spencer's reply "Because she's here with me!"

Emily couldn't believe what she just heard "WHAT? You're lying, I want to speak to her, give her the phone" Emily challenged her, she was afraid that her friend wasn't joking.

"No Em, I will not!" Spencer with a deflated tone answered back.

"Oh what a friend you are!" that was the last thing Em said before she hanged up.

When Emily looked up she saw a very entertained Hanna on the door, she was about to ask how it went, but Emily beat her up to it "Spencer's with Paige right now, or that's what she claims, she just told me it was a bad idea me being here, but I'm not going to listen…so for now I'm going to take a shower, you're right I stink, we can do whatever you want to do after"

"Oh ok, if you want anything I'm just around the corner, and that includes sponge baths" she threw the last comment when she was leaving, and she heard a little laugh from Emily when she was outside.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Disclaimer: I don't own the majority of the characters.  
_**

**_Flashbacks are in italics._**

* * *

'It was her, at the airport then' Paige thought, so she saw her after all this time, after dreaming and dreading the day, it finally happened, and the feeling was surreal.

After Spencer left her at the hotel without saying a word about her conversation with Emily or the conversation they were about to have about Emily, they decided to meet the next day, to talk strictly about business, and then they would meet Aria for drinks.

She spent more time that she would like to admit thinking about Emily, she didn't knew what she's been doing, or if she stills swims, or if she was with someone or maybe still with Alison.

Ohh, or how about if she saw her with Nina….Nina, she forgot to call her.

She picked up the phone and saw 5 missed calls from her, she felt guilty. She spent the entire day reminiscing and thinking about the wrong girl, when she had an almost perfect girl back home, when she called her Nina picked up instantly.

"I called you a bunch of times, so how was the meeting, did you get the deal? My dad has been grilling me for details but I didn't know what to tell him because you didn't pick up the phone!" a very upset Nina answered.

"Hey I'm sorry, I just I forgot to charge my phone" Paige lied and continued "I didn't get the chance to talk about the deal, funny thing, the scary lawyer was Spencer Hastings, and we didn't get to talk about it, I'm sorry, so how was your day?" Paige changed the subject.

"Spencer? And who is that?" Nina questioned her.

"One of my friends for back home, you know the smart one?" Paige replied, but it sounded more like a question.

"So are you answering or are you asking me? I didn't keep the names right the first and the last time you told me about them" Nina declared.

"Well, she's the best lawyer after you of course" Paige conveyed, sometimes she wondered if she really cared about her friends, she knows that she didn't gave them the best reputation but after meeting Aria she thought she was genuinely intrigued by her past, by her old friends, but it's a work in progress she guessed.

"Now I remember her, well did you make plans to see her again for the deal? And if you did, I expect you to invite her as well to the weeding" Nina replied.

"Yes I will see her tomorrow, and after the business meeting, were going to see Aria for a couple drinks, and yeah I already did, she was excited" she kind of reported to her, it seemed more like a business call rather than a lovers call

"Oh did you call the bakery? Please tell me you did babe!? Nina asked.

Paige didn't want to add another thing to her animosity towards today, so she lied again "yeah I got it for tomorrow, and I'm going with Aria and Spencer for support" she wanted to stay a couple of days there, she wanted to catch up with the girls and like Spencer said, to get back the time they have lost.

"Great! It's not that I don't trust you, but maybe having Aria there could make you not choose just the chocolate ones, you have to try them all, ok?" she added with a laugh, she seemed more relaxed now, and god how she loves hearing that laugh.

"Hey but chocolate it's the best option, everyone loves chocolate, are you nuts, I'm going for that one, maybe asking Aria was a bad idea" Paige says offended but she giggles at the end.

She knew Nina was smiling, and that was so much better than her getting mad

"Hey seriously I don't mind your pick, the only thing it will matter that day, will be us…but keep in mind that I would probably divorce you afterwards if there's only chocolate ok" Nina acknowledged, those simple words, made Paige happy, and she truly saw a future with her.

"Well I promise to keep an open mind about other mixings, so how was your day?" she asked.

"Well I went home to clean up the mess we did last night…I don't mind if we keep doing that, by the way…then I went to work for a bit, and then I went to meet the wedding planner your mother refer me. She was actually very good, very amicable and we got along just fine, she has a great taste for everything, even if she just started her company, she knew what she was doing….." Nina told her all the things she prepared with their wedding planner, she kept the details until her return, but she seemed happy with their pick. They ended the call and Paige immediately went to sleep, thinking about Nina this time.

* * *

After Emily took her shower she went downstairs, where she found Hanna and Caleb in a very compromising position on the couch, she cleared her throat, and they immediately stop their show of affection, and Caleb stood up to give her a hug.

"Hey Emily, it's good to see you, sorry about that, but a very pregnant Hanna it's a very…" they all knew what he was going to say, but Hanna interrupted him "finish that sentence Caleb and there won't be any Hanna for you" Emily laughed at the scene and innuendo.

"So are we going out or are we ordering take out, or I can cook if you want" she offered.

But both Hanna and Caleb nodded their heads no, "I don't want to kill this child yet, so why don't we order something" a very playful Hanna answered.

Emily pretended to be offended by putting her hand on my heart and saying "I could never do something bad to my future godson, you're the one who won't deliver him the best cooked meal ever" she replied.

"And who can vouch that statement?" Hanna inquired.

"Well that would be Paige, and she's alive" she countered back.

"Maybe some other time, now who wants pizza?" Caleb offered, sensing, where the conversation was about to turn again.

Strangely enough it only reminded her more of the first time that she cooked for Paige.

* * *

_"Hey Em, I'm here, where are you?" Paige raised her voice, Emily assumed she was in her bedroom._

_"Down here, in the kitchen" she yelled back, Paige came seconds later and kissed her in the head._

_"What are you doing Em?" she asked. _

_"Playing football…what does it look like? I'm cooking us dinner, you always cook for us, so now I want to return the favor" she retorted, Paige smiled and did her head dip that Emily loved so much, they were in a good path, Paige started to grab the items on the table to help her but Emily instantly slapped her hand._

_"No uh, you're not doing anything tonight, this is all about you, just do something until dinner is ready" she stated, and Paige opted to grab a chair and sat in front of the kitchen table. _

_"So this means you would do all the cooking for our future family?" she asked as she played with an apple she just grabbed._

_"Let's see how tonight goes and we can discuss it later, but I feel very optimistic about you asking me every day to cook for you…hey don't eat that, I'm almost finished" Emily warned her._

_"If it turns out like the wonderful meals that Pam delivers me, then don't doubt for a second that I will ask you to do all the cooking" she finished it with a laugh._

_Minutes later they were seated in front of each other, and Emily waited for Paige to have the first bite, at first she made a weird face, but then brushed it off with a smile. _

_"So what's the verdict?" Emily asked hopefully._

_"It's not bad, it's not bad at all, actually I will take upon you're offer and from now on, you will do all the cocking" Paige reached out for her hand, and kept eating with her other hand. _

_"Ok, as long as I do the meals, you have to clean everything afterwards" Emily established, Paige smirked and responded "seems like a good deal to me"_

_After dinner, Paige cleaned the kitchen while Emily watched and she was very entertained. _

_After that they went to Emily's room, were she stated there was dessert._

_"I'm full, you're going to kill me Em" Paige sighed when she fell into bed. _

_"Well I did say there was dessert, but not the food kind…" as soon as she heard her, Paige got up and swept her of her feet, throwing her to the bed, and climbing on top of her giggling, she started to kiss her neck, but Emily rolled them over and whispered "no, like I said I want tonight to be all about you…"_

* * *

"Hey earth to Emily! What got you all flustered?" Hanna asked, they were seated on the couch and eating pizza.

"I…nothing…it's just hot out here" Emily replied back, they seemed to understand her daydreaming so Caleb stepped in "So Hanna told me what happened, so what are your plans now? Do I still get to search and be a part of the finding McCullers and get her back?"

"Well I don't know, I know for sure what I saw, she was with someone…and now she's in New York with Spencer, who thinks that this is a bad idea"

"Maybe she has a point, because she knows more than we do…but I'm not saying you should give up" Caleb suggested.

"You need to call her back Em, as mad as you are right now, you need to call her, and my pokie its right, Spencer may know more than us, and you have to be in good graces if you want to ask for her help" Hanna added.

"Ok, you and pokie are right, I will call her tomorrow, it's late there now" she said and laughed at the nickname Hanna gave Caleb.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the majority of the characters.**_

* * *

"Hello I'm here to see Mrs. Hastings"

"She's waiting for you" a very bored assistant pointed Spencer's office to Paige.

"Hey I brought coffee and those cronuts I heard you loved so much…" When Paige entered she failed to notice that Spencer was on the phone, and it was currently on speaker, Spencer panicked and tried to cover it but she was not fast enough as the other voice was.

"I'm trying here Spence, so please tell me you'll help me, please?!" a very persistent Emily continued until she heard Paige "who was that? Paige?"

Paige was about to answer but Spencer didn't let her "Ok Em I will help you, I promise… yeah Paige's here, so I got to go, I'll talk to you later, bye now" Spencer had the look that it was only reserved for Paige when she did something she usually needed permission to do, and Paige got the meaning.

"I do know how to knock but your assistant told me you were waiting for me…hey look on the bright side I brought…"

"Yeah coffee and cronuts, I heard you the first time, now give me that" she took the bag quickly and started to engulf the pastries, when she finished they talked straight away about business leaving all the questions about Emily behind.

They got along just fine and they made the deal, almost instantly, because it was carefully planned and skillfully organized, just the way they like it.

After their 2 hour meeting they went to meet Aria for lunch.

"Hey there my little munchkin" Paige greeted her, she hugged her back and whispered "Paigey! Hey why is Spencer giving me a bad look?"

"Well it has to do with the fact that you lied to me! And you guys left me out" Spencer declared with a pout, so Aria went hugged her and apologized, they had a great conversation afterwards, it seemed they passed the awkward phase, and now they were on a good place.

"Aria you know Nina right? So I heard all peaches and rainbows from this one, but now I want the juicy details" a very intrigued Spencer inquired.

"Juicy details? What are you, Hanna? I think she's rubbing on you, what do you mean about juicy?" Aria grilled her back.

When Spencer was about to reply, Nina called, so Paige stood up from the table and went to a place where she could to talk to her privately.

"Hi Nin, how's your morning? Did you sleep well?" she started.

"It's going good, I'm just sad that you aren't here with me, I couldn't sleep so well, I think you damaged me, I couldn't sleep without my fix of you cuddling me…" Nina's voice was a mix of sadness and a long sleepless night.

"I'm sorry, I think we need to cut the tradition, I mean what would you do if your father sends me to I don't know Asia or Europe?" Paige straight away asked

"NO! I love our cuddle time! And don't worry I will be by your side on all of those trips, this was just a minor trip thing. So…do you have any news for me?"

"As a matter of fact yes, I sealed the deal, we have the company"

"That great babe, I'm going to tell my father right away, so enjoy your afternoon, but not too much, I'm going to meet the wedding planner right now, I will plan our next meeting for when you come back, so I will call you soon, say hi to Aria for me, goodbye cutie, see you tonight" she ended the phone call, and Paige went back to the table, she noticed the conversation they were having ended abruptly when she came back, but she brushed it off as something personal, but deep down she knew that they were talking about Emily.

They were always tiptoeing around the subject, thinking that she couldn't stand it, but it was the other way, in fact, she really wanted to know about her.

"That was Nina, she says hi" Paige explained and both girls nodded "So I don't know if you are busy, but I would like you to come with me to my cake tasting appointment that I made today, I seriously need some advice and restrain to not just order the ones I like, so are you in?" she asked.

"Took you long enough, I was thinking that I needed to impose myself on going with you, Nina called me today, so I'm in, are you coming with us Spence?" a very upbeat Aria agreed.

"Uh yeah sure, let's go" Spencer agreed as well, they shared knowing looks to each other along the way.

They arrived to the bakery shop, and Jean Guillen the baker met them at the front, he's French, and he looked young, like no more than 30, he was so masculine but at the same time so unkempt, he had an accent but you could understand him well, and they saw why he's so busy all the time, thanks to the line of girls outside his store and to top all, Paige saw not only Aria but Spencer hawking at her baker.

"Ello you must be Paige" Jean shook her hand "Yes I am"

"And who are these beautiful girls?" Jean asked in his sultry voice"

"My friends, Spencer and Aria" she replied

"It's wonderful to meet you, Spencer, and Aria such a beautiful name" he was flirting with Aria the entire time he spoke. He took them to the back, where they found a table set with an impressive amount of different cakes laid out.

"Ya I prepared such a variety of flavors for you to taste, as order by Nina, she warned me though that you were fond of chocolat, so that's why I made you my specials just for you" he was such a delight, and Paige already liked him.

They spent the next hours tasting heaven, they got along fine and at the end Aria agreed to go on a date with him, which resulted in him being Aria's date to the weeding.

"So I had a really good time today, it sucks that I have to go back tonight, I never got the chance to see Toby yet, but hey you guys will be in LA next week right?" Paige asked to Spencer and Aria, and Aria was the first to respond "Yes, Nina asked me to come, she needs my help finding a good photographer, even though I offered, I definitely will be there"

"My situation is a little more complicated, but I will try to get of work and get Toby to go with me, and well Emily needs me to help her reunit…" she was about to finish but Aria slightly punched her in her arm an indication to shut her up of course "Yeah, um yeah Paige I will try" Spencer concluded, rubbing herself where the punch was thrown by the little girl.

* * *

As Paige went through customs she thought about the last time she was at the airport, she went to the spot where she was when she saw Emily, and she was kind of hoping that she would be there again.

Her thoughts were rapidly disrupted by the voice of Nina "hey stop thinking about me, I'm here!" Nina came to her side and gave her a long lingering kiss that was different, it was desperate and needy, and Paige didn't mind it at first but then she remembered they were on a public place so she ended the kiss.

Nina seemed disappointed but then very aware of what she did, she took one of Paige's suitcases and held her hand.

When they got to the car, she kissed her once again, now this time Paige didn't held back either, a couple of minutes later Paige stopped the kiss, the need for air became necessary

"I missed you so much" Paige said, she pecked Nina's lips one more time and continued "why don't we go back to the house now, we have all night, don't worry, I'm not going anywhere…"

"Uh yeah sorry if I got desperate, its juts that I missed you too, and I had a crappy day…" Nina replied back, she sounded tired and nervous.

"Hey maybe I could drive, and you can tell me all about your awful day and maybe when we get to the house I could cheer you up" Paige smirked, and Nina agreed, a small smile displaying on her lips

"Well it was going well, but then I went to the office of our wedding planner and she introduced me to her partner, who was so rude and mean to me, I don't know, maybe it's all in my head, but she clearly had some attitude towards me, tomorrow you will see for yourself" Nina carefully responded.

"Maybe it's in your head, you've been stressed out by everything, but I'm not saying you're lying, but I will see it for myself tomorrow, and if she doesn't treat you well then, she will have a word with me ok?" Paige stated, she saw her smile got wider and se knew she was starting to feel better.

When they arrived she picked her up a carried her to their room, Nina screamed all the way to put her down but she was giggling so she was okay.

"Now how about I make you feel better? And make you feel how much I've missed you!" Paige put her down as requested.

At first Paige didn't noticed the change in their room, but then she saw Nina's devious smile and she realized then that their room was covered with a bunch of flowers and candles.

Paige collected her kiss when she was done admiring Nina's effort, but suddenly Nina got serious, she even went to sit on the bed "I know you love me, and I know we're about to marry, but if you have any kind of doubts I need you to tell me right now, I don't want to lose you at the end if it doesn't work out… if you tell me now, maybe we could still be friends" Nina began to sob.

Paige was perplex about the turn of events, but she knew what to do "I do love you very much…so If I didn't want you to be my wife I wouldn't have asked, I want you, you are one of the best things I have, I don't want you to think like this" when Nina looked down, Paige tilted her head and met her eyes, "maybe this is coming from a very restless nights and the lack of cuddling and the girl that make you feel this way, but now I'm here, with you, and now can we skip to the part where we show each other how much we missed one and other…" Paige was instantly engulfed in a passionate kiss and for the rest of the night they showed how much they missed each other.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the majority of the characters.**_

* * *

Emily woke up to the instant buzzing of her cellphone, she accepted the call when she saw the name on the screen.

"First of all I'm sorry for the way it all went down yesterday, I didn't let you explain your side of things, I know I acted like a controlling friend, but it happened all so fast, and I didn't consider your feelings because I don't want you to suffer. So I'm sorry, please don't hate me, it all came from a very loving place" Spencer's voice was barely a whisper.

"Well you caught me in a good mood, so yes I forgive you Spence, but your words hurt, even if there was some truth behind it, I know it all came from a very good place, but you got at least try to do it more carefully next time. Oh yes there will be a next time...right now, so you saw her…" Emily was fully awake now, with anticipation of hearing her friend talk about Paige.

"Thank you Em…um yes she was here for business at first, but we got carried away so she's coming today again, and later were going to meet Aria for lunch…" Spencer vaguely said.

"That's it! That's all you're given me?" Emily was annoyed but continued anyway "so how is she?"

"She's fine I guess, she's working for her girlfriend's father…she won't be here long enough, she has to go back today…I heard you will work with Hanna, don't kill her please, she's the only blonde I can deal in my life" Spencer added with a chuckle, I laughed too, Emily failed to notice that Spencer told her that Paige had a girlfriend.

"Well I can't make any promises, but for you I will try ok…so is she with someone?" Spencer frowned, she knew Emily couldn't see her but she nodded either way.

"Em, before I answer you, why are you there? I know it's hard to let go, but don't you think at some point you need to…"

"I'm here for myself Spence, I don't know…I think I need to get my life back, but in order to do that, I have to deal with many things, and one of them it's getting Paige back, I know I want her in every possible way, but if that doesn't turn out then just as a friend, but for that to happen I need you guys help, I love her Spencer I never stopped, and I want her back, and you can help me, you can…" Emily pleaded.

"It's great to hear you say what you want Em, but as I already told you, she's with someone and it's kind of serious…and I don't know if we should intervene in this situation" Spencer vaguely said again.

"I just want to talk to her again…I need you Spencer" Emily still begged.

"I don't know Em, what if you get tired of everything at some point, and you end breaking not only your heart but their hearts too, I don't want Paige to be another one of your whims…" Spencer finally revealed her reluctance to helping her.

"I know I didn't have the best intentions before, but now I know I want her, I want to spend the rest of my life with her, and I'm trying here Spence so please tell me you'll help me, please?" Emily voiced her pleadings, she was not sure that she heard someone talk when she was doing it too, she tried to hear the voice again, but she assumed Spencer was trying to conceal it.

She had a vague feeling that it was Paige so she asked "Who was that? Paige?"

"Ok Em I will help you, I promise… Paige's here, so I got to go, I'll talk to you later, bye now" before she even had the time to reply the line went dead.

Again it was like a surreal moment, she heard her voice but then again she didn't really hear it.

'So that went well" Emily guessed, Spencer was willing to help her, and now there's one to go.

Emily hasn't talk to Aria since she went to California, even now that she was back in New-York. She hoped Spencer's necessity of expressing kicked in, and that she provided Aria of the information needed.

She sighed thinking about her friends and the situation she was putting them, but it was for her happiness, and they wanted her to be happy.

She was going with Hanna to work, because she asked her if Emily could lend her uncanny taste for a particular wedding, she rolled her eyes when she remembered the explanation she gave her.

"So just because they're gay I'm supposed to know what they want?" Emily asked and Hanna just nodded.

"That's ridiculous, Han how can I possibly know what they want if I never even meet them, and even then I wouldn't know for sure, were not the same, you're unbelievable"

"Ok I was thinking that you may know better the insight of how they work, you know, what are the things they want or I don't know what lesbians do" a very amused Hanna replied.

She was trying to hold back her laughter but she couldn't take it anymore and finally confessed "Ok I'm sorry, I'm kidding! I just need you, this is one of our biggest weddings, and it's starting to be the best one yet, the couple doesn't spare costs on anything, they want their day to be big and flashy, and I just need your brain for some things, and well you invested in this company, so you might as well do something with getting your money back, and we're talking a big amount of money whit this clients…" after she finished she looked at Emily to see if she was on board, which she was, Emily knew the wedding was their big step to being on the map and to prosper economically.

They entered the building, and everyone greeted them as they were passing by each department, until they finally arrived to a big room where two desks were close to each other's but a small glass wall panel kept them separated.

The building itself had only floor to ceiling windows, but all of the offices were covered with a partial-frosted glass walls, Emily smiled seeing how well Hanna prepared her arrival, Emily was so happy, she went to her supposed desk and stared at everything in awe "Han you did a very good job on this office and everything, I love it already"

Hanna squealed and went to hug her "I'm so glad you like it, now we can begin our super stress free week!"

"Sorry to interrupt but, your next appointment is here, she's waiting in the conference room" Hanna's assistant told them, she looked excited as she went out of the door.

"Oh my god she's here, so are you ready to kiss some top lawyers ass! We need this Em" Emily just rolled her eyes and nodded.

Emily entered the room behind Hanna, and she saw how the girl greeted her friend with a kiss and a hug like they were friends, and then Hanna introduce us.

"Nina I like you to meet the half owner of the company, she's now involved in the process of the events, so she will be here when I can't, think of her as me, but without the baby and the boy crush" Hanna raised her eyebrows repeatedly, and they understood her meaning.

Emily felt like she has seen her before but, she just passed it, like another skinny dark haired girl, with piercing blue eyes and a sharp face.

"Thank you Hanna but I can speak for myself. Hi I'm Emily Fields, and I will be glad to help you with anything you want" Emily formally stablished.

She saw recognition on the girls face and she found it weird "Well-well…I'm Nina Weisberger, it's nice to finally meet you, I know a lot of things about you, and it's nice to put a face to those stories" she deviously stated.

She guessed Hanna told her some stories.

"Well I hope that I meet your expectations and that those things that you heard were good things I hope" she claimed. The girl still looked like a fierce cat, waiting for one of her slips, 'it was weird' Emily thought.

"I haven't decided yet, but I will" she countered back, Hanna sensed something weird too so she changed the subject with the wedding plans "So we can't move forward until we meet this fortunate girl you're about to marry, but if you want we can go through the details of what you expect from your day"

"You don't have to worry, she's coming back tonight, so will be here tomorrow morning" Nina clarified "Although not so early, you know we will be probably be tired after the long night I prepared for us, you know, I can't wait to see her…after this last trip I never going to let her go, and I'm the fortunate one " she added with a wink and a laugh, Emily didn't like it at all, but she faked a smile and nodded along with Hanna who was happy for her.

"Oh yeah, don't worry, just tell Olivia to put your next appointment whenever you feel like it…so did you fiancée went to the bakery shop?" Hanna asked.

"Yes, she went with a friend and one of my future bridesmaid I hope" she crossed her fingers when she mentioned the last part "well I better get going, I want to make sure tonight its perfect" Nina raised up from her chair and grabbed her purse, she stopped for a second before she looked at Emily "one last thing I need to see a part of the invitations for tomorrow, just the part with our parents' names on it, and the non-official date… as always is nice to see you Hanna, and Emily, a pleasure to meet you, I definitely will come to you with anything…" she gave Hanna a sweet smile that then turned into a fake smile for Emily before she left.

Emily turned to Hanna who had her serious face after the exchange.

"Ok what did you do to her?"

"I was next to you the entire time, I didn't do or say anything Hanna" Emily said bitterly.

"I know but you definitely did something, she saw you like you were the spawn devil…I want you on your best behavior young lady" she told her with a straight face but failed once again at the last minute.

"What you're practicing your warning face for my future nephew?" Emily asked amused "I think you seriously need more practice, I promise I will do anything the devil incarnate asks…I don't know she seems familiar"

"Well she's like one of the best lawyers in the states, and her father is a big CEO of multiple millionaire companies, you may have heard of them, and for the other girl well I don't know much, Nina is always keeping her name vague or what she does or how they met…" Hanna wondered out loud "yeah I guess it's weird, but tomorrow we'll finally meet her and we will start to prepare this wedding" Hanna explained.

The only thing that Emily thinks is that she knows her from somewhere.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the majority of the characters.  
**_

* * *

When Paige woke up, she felt the other side of the bed empty, she began to groan when she remembered she needed to get up, but instead she closed her eyes again, minutes later she heard Nina's laugh as she went back to bed.

"You're supposed to be up already, I left for more than 20 minutes ago, come on sleepy head I made you breakfast…but I'm going to get it for you, since you won't get up" Nina felt Paige pulling her towards the bed before she has the chance to walk away, she ended on top of Paige who started to leave traces of small kisses in her neck.

Paige loved the idea of having breakfast in bed, but she loved more the idea of having Nina in bed, but Nina reluctantly pushed Paige and untangled herself from her fiancée's grip.

"Hey, I thought I satisfied you for days yesterday! Come on we need to eat and leave soon for our appointment" Nina came back with food, as Paige made a pouty face.

"I don't want to go, I trust you as you trusted me with the cake thing, and I don't want you to go either, I want us to stay here until the day of our wedding, and also I want to sleep, you worn me out" she stated, as she ate with fervor her food

"You don't need to, you have to…please it will be quick just a few questions and picks, and if you don't want to go again I won't me mad, just this once for me" she added with a pout, Paige thought it was adorable, so she kissed away that pouty face and continued to eat "ok I will go, but you will miss one of the best mornings ever!"

Nina just smiled at Paige "I can live with that"

Nina knew they day they will have, and if she's correct it will be better if they stayed, but if her plans turned out like she wants it to, then it could disperse all her worries and her doubts of Paige.

She was getting anxious by each minute, so she went to get dress properly, deciding to pick one of Paige favorite outfits for her –a white see trough blouse with a black bra, black skinnies, and spiky heels- she knew Paige couldn't resist her, so when she got out, she met Paige's hungry look, and she knew she made the right choice.

"That's it, we're staying here, you wore that on purpose" Paige whined.

It was a sunny day, so Paige opted to have a pair of distressed jeans shorts and a sexy loose tank top.

"Well you're making it difficult too, you look good babe, now if you're ready we need to go now" Nina grabbed her celine bag, but instead of going to the door she went were Paige was to give her a long kiss before going outside.

Paige felt something different with that kiss, it felt like the kiss from yesterday too. It was like they were doing everything like it was their last day together or something, she couldn't quite shake the feeling that everything was about to change and she didn't like it.

* * *

"Have you talked to Aria yet?" Hanna insisted, she seemed very anxious about Emily's answer.

"Not yet, why? Have you talked to her?" Emily questioned her, sensing she did and that's why she was jumpy.

"I did yesterday and I think you should call her right now, she saw Paige too" Hanna replied.

Emily forgot that Spencer told her they were meeting Paige for drinks, so therefore Aria knows more than she does about Paige because she has seen her.

"Aria was acting weird since the last time she was here and we haven't talked since the night she got back to New York, I called her and she give me the impression that she didn't want to talk to me about her trip, she only said she had a great time, then she decided to end the conversation, I don't know… did you tell her about our plans or did she mentioned Spencer telling her about it? It seems like she doesn't want to talk to me anymore" Emily became fidgety about the conversation.

"Um she has a reason Em, she has been seeing Paige" Hanna said, she saw Emily's shock face and she realized how it must have sounded so she reassured Emily that it wasn't like that

"Not in that way…she has been talking to her and she knows her girlfriend too, she's didn't want to tell you, because she thought you didn't care anymore but Spencer told her your plans and now she's torn" Hanna finally confessed.

Emily felt even more torn about Aria secret and obviously about her choice, she decided to have her friendship with Paige a secret and it must have been for a reason.

Overall she was her best friend, she couldn't understand why she didn't say at least something, she picked her phone before she changed her mind and called Aria, after the 4th ring she answered.

"Hello…Emily?" Arias voice was small, like she's been expecting the call, Emily waited for an apology but there was nothing so she decided to speak first.

"Hey Aria, Han told me about you and Paige, I don't want to know how it happened or since when, I'm deciding to give you the benefit of doubt, but I want you to know that you hurt me, I'm supposed to be your best friend…" Emily claimed.

"I am your best friend Em...but Paige asked me not to tell anyone yet so I didn't tell you guys, it hasn't been long since we first saw each other, but since we did, I've been talking to her almost every day now, and at the time I didn't even know if you wanted to know about her so…" Aria let out a heavy breath and continued "Spencer told me about your plans and what you want from us, and honestly Em I don't know…there are multiple reasons why, but the most important one is that she's happy and she deserves it, ok….you don't get to come back to her life and try to throw out what she has right now, if you would have told me I don't know last year, or the moment you realized the mistake you made after she left for Stanford and Ali leaving you because of it, then I would have helped you, but now I don't get why are you rushing this, well I know why, but I don't want to see another broken heart, and I'm pretty sure it won't be yours…now I'm not telling you I'm not going to help you…because as I stated I'm your best friend and your mine and I want your happiness too, so if it means that you need Paige, then I will try to do what I can to help you, but you have to remember that she's my friend, and I want the best for her too, and whatever happens I would stand by her choices as well"

By the time Aria finished Emily was sobbing slightly, she knew Aria was right, she couldn't rattle the feelings about her plans not going well, hell she haven't even spoken to Paige at all, so she didn't know what to hope for their future if there was one, but she was going to take control of her life this time.

"I'm sorry I put you through this turmoil Aria, I think you're the best friend I could ever asked for, all of you really, I understand the position you are in right now, and I can only reassure you that I'm doing this with my best intentions, I don't want to cause trouble for anyone, and I know that that's what I'll do, but it will be worth it…I believe we still love each other, at least I do…You know what I said to her the last time we spoke? Well I told her that she deserved everything and she told me she had it, I couldn't see it before because I was so blind, and now I know we had it and now we can have it again, the best of everything but together" Emily knew as soon as she finished that once again that she needed to fight for what she wanted.

And that always would be Paige.

"Oh Em, finally it took you long enough, I just wanted to hear you say it…I know how hard it must been, you know realizing what you had and what you want is the same thing…but if you really want this then I will be there for you, I will be there by your side in every step of the way, I love you Em" Aria disclosed "I'm sure right now you have a lot of questions, and I will explain everything you want, but not right now, I'm late for my flight, I told Paige I was coming next week, but I made some arrangements and I'm leaving right now, so I guess I will see you soon…don't do anything until we have a proper talk, you need to know many things before you see her, so I'll see you soon Em, bye"

Emily couldn't reply because Aria already hang up, she then looked over at Hanna who was stroking her belly and smiling

"So I take that went well, see what did I tell you" Hanna grinned "now we have to hurry, we're late for work"

"So what time do we expect the power couple to appear again?" Emily asked Hanna while she helped her to stand up from the couch.

"At 11 I think, Olivia said she will walk them through to the conference room instead of our office"

* * *

Paige was walking hand in hand with Nina.

They entered the large building and immediately they were escorted by a young girl who seemed awed by the couple, she directed them to the conference room, as Paige entered she saw a flash of the name plate on the opposite door but she instantly erased the crazy thought that crossed her mind as she read Marin, she began to wonder where they were, and why her mom recommended this company.

Nina began to fidget in her seat and Paige noticed how nervous her girlfriend was.

"Hey babe, I was thinking that you were right we should have stayed in our bed forever" she said as she kept glancing back to the door.

"It's not too late, we can go back, and we can start again what we did last night…hey why are you nervous, I will like everything you've planned don't worry" Paige said as she reached for Nina's lips for a calming effect, she began to kiss her softly but it was the perfect moment Nina thought, to establish that they were together for good, so she deepen the kiss, they were both lost on each other and that was her plan.

* * *

"They're here, and they couldn't be more perfect, they already are in the conference room, god I didn't even thought that the fiancée would be so hot, they're waiting for you, good luck" a very excited Olivia said to Hanna and Emily.

As Hanna began to search for the sketches and ideas for the wedding, Emily was leaving for the meeting, when Hanna looked at the invitations she let a loud gasp when she saw the names of the parents, she quickly recovered just in time to make Emily stop in her tracks.

"Emily wait, you can't go in there" Hanna yelled, but Emily looked at her comically and entered the room with Hanna behind.

When she entered she obviously interrupted what it seemed like a make out session, but the only sight she saw after they stopped was that Nina was with Paige.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the majority of the characters.  
**_

_**Flashbacks are in italics.**_

* * *

Nina was with Paige…

"Emily" was the only thing that Paige could muster, the moment she heard the door open she was instantly embarrassed, but then it was rapidly replaced by dread, because standing in front of her was Emily, the girl who at one time was the best for her.

It seemed like hours passed just being lost in each other's eyes, but it was only seconds later that someone decided to speak and of course it was Nina "I'm sorry for the display, my fiancée was just trying to make me feel better, so Hanna Emily this is…"

"Paige" Emily whispered.

She wasn't ready, in her mind this wasn't supposed to happen, Paige couldn't be there and most of all she couldn't be engaged!

She looked healthier and skinnier at the same time, she had the same brown and sweet eyes she fell from the first time, she noticed the wide smile she had when she was kissing Nina at first but then her smile was replaced by a frown and a tight smile, they couldn't get their eyes of each other until Nina decided to say something.

Hanna sensing the horrible situation her friend was in, decided that today won't be a good day to discuss anything. She was worried that maybe it will never be, but at least today it will be better if they parted ways.

"Nina, Paige, I'm afraid that this meeting needs to be reschedule for another time" she heard a sigh of relieve coming from both Emily and Paige.

But Nina beat her up to it "I'm sorry but that can't happen, I will be so busy and will not make it another time, If you couldn't receive us then you should have called, this is so irresponsible and…"

"Hey it's ok, we could come another day" Paige cut Nina, she grabbed her hand to calm her, she definitely did not think what her actions were doing to Emily.

"It's not ok Paige, were doing this now, unless one of you tells me why are you cancelling this" Nina spoke very despitefully, because she saw it, she saw their eyes, the way they looked at each other.

Paige thought that Nina didn't know who they really were and why they wanted to end the meeting without even a second chance, she needed to clear the air.

"Um Nin, its ok, maybe we could do it another day…I know them" she ended her explanation with a slight whisper "she's Emily"

She saw Nina's face as she "realized" who they were.

"Well I don't see the point in cancelling this, unless you need to talk or reconnect…" Nina angrily said, but Paige quickly shook her head "No".

So now the decision was theirs.

Hanna looked at Emily and mouthed 'are you sure' and Emily just nodded.

Emily eventually caught up the game that Nina was trying to play, she didn't like her from the beginning but now even more because she was sure she planned all of this, to what end, she didn't know yet, but she will, she reflected.

"Ok, then please take a seat" Hanna pleaded to the couple.

The minute that the word 'No' left Paige's mouth, she felt like she was entering a dangerous field, she knew this couldn't end well, she took the seat opposite to Emily.

The moment she saw her again she felt her heart bumping a lot faster and harder than ever, and when she saw her smile she was already lost. For Paige, Emily didn't change at all, only the dark circles under her eyes, and the demeanor when she saw her kissing Nina was the only indication of change.

When Emily caught her staring she looked away pretending to admire the room, but she knew she got caught.

"So Paige I think I haven't said congratulations, you look fine as always" Hanna smiled at Paige.

Paige did the same "Thank you, and congratulations to you too, I'm so happy for you and Caleb, how is he?" Paige politely asked.

"Thanks, he's ok, but he misses you like crazy, you should come by the house some day and we could catch up, I've missed your little ass" they all smiled except Nina who didn't find any comfort on them reconnecting, when she knew Emily will be there too.

"So Nina now it all makes sense" Hanna cautiously said "you, never telling us who your fiancée was, and not bringing her sooner…I guess you didn't want to share her with us"

Paige turned to see Nina, she was surprised she never mentioned her, and she was more surprised when Nina looked fidgety.

"I thought you already knew who she was, but I wasn't aware that you knew her, but now that we've covered the basics, can we focus on the wedding?" Nina snapped.

"Yeah we can do that, so it looks like you decided to be wed on August and to have 150 guests wow that's excessive…didn't you want a small gathering? and the date it's a little bit far, a lot can happen…it's a nice month, but Paige prefers July so I guess Nina made the decision" Emily intervened for the first time, she reached for the folder Hanna brought, and saw the date and immediately thought about what to say, she was a little thrilled that the date was far, so she decided to point it out and add something for Nina to catch on.

Paige was aware that by now, she was overthinking every word, the moment she heard Emily talk and mention her preferences, she felt hurt, because she was talking about a time she mentioned this, a time when they had it all.

* * *

_They were swimming in Paige's pool._

_Emily needed to feel the water against her skin and the moment she felt it she was at peace, Paige was just happy the moment she saw Emily's face when she reached for the pool, it was a peaceful night._

_"I want our house to have a big pool like this, for the kids to swim" Emily slowly swam towards her girlfriend. Paige just let out a small laugh "Em, don't you think we need to marry first?"_

_"Well that's implied Paige, I was just pointing out what I want" Emily declared as she kissed Paige, they spent a few minutes making out, when Emily stopped the kiss to ask "wait you don't want to get married?"_

_Paige saw Emily's features change, she gave her a chaste kiss to reassure her that she did "I do want to get married, I want a close and intimate wedding with our family and friends, I want to do it somewhere close to the beach, and I want it in July!" Paige excitedly yelled "Did those answered your questions you were about to ask, after I said yes?" Paige smiled coyly._

_Emily smile just grew bigger with each response. She wanted everything that Paige said for their future. And she couldn't wait to see it happen._

* * *

"It's true, it's a bit far away don't you think babe? So how about we change the date and we do it in a month? I don't see why we have to wait until August if we can do it in July and it will be better because you would like it more, as Emily pointed out" Nina took Emily's suggestion for her own good.

On the other hand, Emily almost lost it, because the results came different as expected.

They both looked at Paige for a confirmation or for a decline, Nina of course wanted Paige to agree with her on the change, for Emily to see who she prefers now, and Emily expected Paige to disagree on the impromptu decision, she wanted Paige to leave her with more time to get her back, but Paige couldn't know what they were thinking, she just went with what she thought it was appropriate.

"Can we just stick with the original date…"and there it is Emily thought to herself.

"I just don't like July anymore" Emily didn't know what to feel about the confession but she decided that she was happy because she had more time at least.

"So August it is?" Hanna asked, she was met by two nods, one of them was a certain nod and the other one not so much.

"I already have a part of the invitations printed, the first page contains each of your parent's names and the second page has your names, we didn't put the date yet, so you have a week to decide before we send all the invitations, for next week we plan for you to decide a venue, from then on you get to choose what you want to do" Hanna ended the explanation.

Emily was getting anxious for being this close to Paige without touching her or staring at her without being so obvious, but everything shut down quickly as they rushed the ending of the meeting.

Paige and Nina agreed on everything and decided it was time to leave, they were by the door when Hanna stood up and went to hug Paige, she took the time to whisper something that couldn't be heard by the other girls, Paige just nodded and smiled, they were on the hallway when Paige looked back again, and the only thing she saw was Emily smiling at her, almost like the first time.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the majority of the characters.  
**_

* * *

"I think I have a headache" Hanna complained.

"What do you think I have then?" Emily added too and Hanna was by her side in a minute, giving a reassuring rub on her back.

"How crazy is that Paige is going to marry soon and with that sneaky blonde"

"It's not that crazy, I mean who wouldn't want to marry Paige… and Han she's not blonde but she's very manipulative" Emily reacted, knowing that Nina was trying something.

"You think she may be pregnant?" Hanna hinted, earning a full laugh from her friend.

"Please tell me you didn't think that's the reason ...I don't know why yet but what we do know now is why I got the nasty looks and why did she never mentioned her girlfriend" Emily reasoned.

"Well what do you want do, because Em I saw it! You both still care for each other, you were all just jump me right here…but I mean Paige is getting married in three months at least, I mean are you ok doing this wedding at all?" a very worried Hanna inquired.

"I don't know anymore, what if she's happy even with Nina. I can't get in between their happiness, but in the other hand you're right I still love her and she still feels something so yeah I guess I will still help, even if it is for me getting her back and destroying her possible true love" Emily sighed.

"Ugh don't be so dramatic Emily! Think of it this way, you get to save the love of your live from doing the biggest mistake she could ever do and the other girl to find her 'true love' like you said, and everyone will be happy, see…Now let's go, we have to get Aria from the airport and we're running very late, and if you want to do something you can do it on Friday, I invited her….yeah your welcome, now move it " Hanna practically dragged Emily to the car, they were on their way to pick up their little friend.

* * *

Paige on the other hand was ecstatic, she looked forward to Friday, Hanna invited her to dinner to catch up, normally she wouldn't be so happy to see just Hanna, but now she is because Caleb and Aria and possibly Emily will be there, and she was also happy because she thought Nina and her made some progress today, well sort of.

They were on the way to the airport too, to pick up Aria.

Nina called her before the meeting and she decided to pick her up after, so now they were on the road, with an uncomfortable silence and lingering feelings in the mix.

"We're late thanks to those inexperienced girls who had the audacity to end the meeting before it even started! I think we should change agencies, I want to work with the best to have the best. And why didn't you say anything when I asked you if it was ok to change the date?" Nina demanded.

"Nin, we did end up having the meeting and I trust Hanna to do the best for us, I wouldn't trust anyone else ok…and again I just don't like July anymore, I mean what's the problem with the original date anyway, or is it something else?" Paige was testing the waters to fish the real feelings of Nina, she knew this was just as a surprise for both of them.

Nina finally looked at her and began "In that case I trust in your instincts about Hanna and Emma but would you at l…" Paige was about to interrupt Nina to tell her it wasn't Emma it was Emily but she thought better than to cause more problems.

Did Nina catch her staring too? Is that's why she was so angry, or it was a test? She was still thinking until Nina's voice raised, bringing her to the present.

"…and that's ok, but I don't want us to be in the same room as her, so maybe you can tell Hanna that we're meeting only her from now on" Nina finished, Paige missed half of the explanation, she cursed herself mentally for daydreaming again.

"We'll discuss it later ok, now are you going in while a wait here with the car?" Paige asked and she didn't get an answer by the time she was pulling on the sidewalk Nina took off and went to the entrance, she again sighed, she knew they will have to talk eventually but for the moment she was happy they were picking Aria, so she could be their buffer.

She got out and waited for them to get out anytime.

She didn't have to wait anymore because she was enthralled by Hanna getting out of the car and practically running to the entrance too. She figured she was there to pick up Aria too, but immediately she thought 'if Hanna was here, where's Emily?'

"We have to stop meeting like this. You know so unexpected…" the voice she could never forget said, she turned to see her, she was smiling like on those times they were together and happy.

"What do you mean unexpected like in airports?" Paige replied amusingly, she didn't know why but she sensed that Emily was trying to have an actual conversation with her, and when she finished she saw a slightly nod by the girl, she wanted to keep the conversation going so she added "so you say we have to stop meeting like this, so do you have any other ideas we can come up to meet?" by this point she was cursing herself inwardly for trying to get Emily to talk to her.

She saw the face of Emily's light up like a Christmas tree when she mentioned she wanted to see her again.

"I have a few ideas actually….but how about Friday, you will go to Hanna's right?" Emily asked her but she was preparing herself for a decline.

"Yeah I don't know…are you going?" Paige tested the waters, she didn't knew what to do if Emily was going too, but she thought maybe that was one of the reasons Hanna invited her, just for her and Emily to talk.

"That depends Paige, do you want me there?" Emily definitely wanted to keep up with these sorts of answers that turned into questions for them to know if they really wanted to see each other again on Friday.

"Uh…yeah it will be nice to be with all of you guys" Paige finally said, as Hanna, Aria and Nina stood a few feet's away, watching them having a moment.

When Paige finally averted her eyes to Nina and Aria, Emily quickly replied in a low tone to Paige "Then I'll be there, see you Friday Paige"

She then went to hug Aria after Emily, and she decided to ask "you see how you are treated, gosh and you're so tiny, so we will see you at the apartment?" She was only being polite, because Aria will occupy the guest room on her house, so going with them would be the best idea but she didn't want Hanna and Emily to have wasted their time on coming to pick their best friend.

"I'm so lucky…eh well if you guys don't mind, I want to go with them, but I definitely will see you tonight" Aria replied, she was still in shock to see Hanna and Nina fighting about something, but then more shocked when she saw Emily and Paige talking with their cheeks flushed and a wide smile plastered on their faces.

"It's fine Aria, that gets me more time with this one" Nina laughed it off with a wink and a wave to the girls as she grabbed Paige by the arm and led her to her car.

Once they were inside the silence returned upon them during the whole trip. Paige knew all hell will break loose once they reached home.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the majority of the characters.  
**_

* * *

Emily was reeling from the conversation she had with Paige, when she first saw her standing by her car, she knew she couldn't let the opportunity pass, she had to speak to her, and when she finally did she couldn't stop. Their conversation ended well, so she couldn't be happier, she was driving Hanna's car with Aria riding shot gun with her and Hanna at the back.

"Ok I don't know what do I want to know first, if the fight you got into Hanna, or you Em talking to Paige and with Nina close enough to kill you the next time. What happened to wait for me and my explications?" Aria enthralled, Emily just smiled at Aria, Hanna let out a groan, so they definitely had to talk about Hanna first.

"What happen with you Han?" Now both of her friends were worried.

"She was talking with someone on the phone almost yelling, she said she will sue us just because we were unprofessional with Paige and she mentioned she was at the airport waiting for her bridesmaid to arrive"

Emily wasn't surprised to hear who was going to be the secret bridesmaid but she wasn't prepared for something like a lawsuit coming from the devil, she thought maybe she loves Paige too much to lose her, well she knew the feeling.

"She can do whatever she wants, we have Spencer on our side, so a lawsuit doesn't mean anything, but I think she's desperate, she knows that we can have Paige back, on the other hand, what's up with the bridesmaid thing, Aria do you need to tell us something?" Emily conveyed.

"This is the first time I'm hearing it, but now it makes sense, she told me she needed me to be a big part of the wedding, I thought she reconsidered my offer of being the photographer but maybe she was going to ask me to be her bridesmaid, but I don't know if I should be" a very distressed Aria explained.

"No, you have to say yes, that way you could be on the inside the circle of hell, we need you to say yes right Em?" Hanna suggested, meeting Emily's nod.

"Yeah, Hanna is right, maybe she wants to change agencies and we need to know all of the details if that happens, but its ok if you don't want to do it" Emily added seeing the little girl squirming a little in her seat.

"Fine, I'll do it for you Em, so what happened with Paige? That was the first time you saw her?" Aria inquired.

"No, actually the first and the second time I saw her she got her tongue stuck in Nina's throat, and Nina actually spoke the entire time we were on the meeting for the wedding, but this time, it was only us…so practically yeah you can say that it was our first time talking, although we were stuck on questions for Friday but still…so I guess we will talk on Friday. Just 4 more days" Emily couldn't hide her excitement of seeing Paige again in a short time.

When they arrived to Hanna's house, they decided to pick up some food on the way and have a quiet night, dinning in, with a glass of wine and juice for Hanna. They were talking about everything.

"When will my nephew do his grand entrance?" Aria asked to Hanna.

"If we're lucky then a couple of months left, I can't wait to get him out, I mean I love him already but he's very demanding and if this child is anywhere like me, then we're all doomed!" Hanna laughed along the others while caressing her belly.

"I never thought your big client was Paige, so you need this weeding to be a success, but how are you going to do it?" A very concerned Aria spoke.

"I never thought so either, but here we are, I mean I got it all covered, I choose the best venues to show them, I picked the best caterings on LA, and I got the little things sort out, so from now on they pick what they want to do every week, and based on that I give them what I already choose for them, and if I can't make it, then Em will take charge" Hanna voiced with pride what she had already planned.

"You should rest Han, I don't want you to stress out, maybe you're right, Em can take it, but if this is too much for both of you then you guys should consider other clients to take after the baby is born" Aria nevertheless conveyed her worries.

"Han, I can take it from here, Aria's right, you should rest, and don't worry if I need you for anything I will come to you, but I think that with Aria here everything will be fine" Emily smiled at her friends, she felt lucky to have amazing friends, their friendship survived a lot and that's why they were so perfect for each other.

"How's Spencer and Toby?" Emily asked Aria even though she always talks to them, she wanted to have a second opinion.

"They are fine, she misses you guys so much, I think she told me she was coming next week when we were on the bakery with Paige, she needed to talk to Toby about it but, it's safe to say that she will be here" Aria mentioned, she saw the glint in Emily's eyes when she mentioned Paige and she added "it will always be a mystery to me how can Paige stay thin with so much cake she eats, you know she's a lost case, when coming to pick a cake, she will always have…"

"Two flavors chocolate or coconut" Emily finished Aria's sentence with a sly smile.

"I can't believe you fell for that one, no matter what, at the end it will always turn out to be one of those two flavors"

"Well a little heads up wouldn't have been so bad, I spent 2 or 3 hours tasting different cakes, just for Paige to pick at the end the first cake Jean made especially for her" Aria groaned at the memory but she had a shy smile remembering that because of that she had a date with one hot cook.

Emily decided to drop Aria in Paige's apartment a few hours later, she wanted a new opportunity to see her and to say goodnight, and also she didn't want Hanna driving to late too.

When she pulled on Paige's street she couldn't quite shake the memories she had when she listened to Paige talk about their future room on Stanford, only to have them crushed by her wrong decisions.

When they arrived at the house she noticed Paige standing outside, she didn't know if she was waiting for Aria or if she was only outside, she thought maybe it was the last one sensing she was surprised to see her and Aria on her driveway.

* * *

They didn't talk much on their way home, just as Paige expected, but once they were on the living room, Nina started "Look I know this day was a mess and we probably going to fight about what I want and what you think I want, but honestly I don't want to, if you say that we can trust them to do the best they can for us, then ok, it's just I want you to trust me when I tell you I want us to have a perfect wedding and maybe some things will get in the way of that, and I just want you"

The way Nina spoke to her was different, and Paige didn't had to think about anything else because she understood her fears, and she felt worse because she was feeling great and her girlfriend wasn't.

She went to her side and gave her a hug as she calmed her "nothing will get in the way of our day, I promise, and I promise they will do a good job, I will be there every step of the way with them ok, now tell me what do you really want to say" Paige really needed to know.

"It's nothing, I just think you rather spend time with your friends reminiscing and not with me" Nina reasoned.

Paige internally let out a relieved sigh, she could deal with that easily or that's why she thought.

"No! I mean they are my friends and I haven't seen them in a long time, you know that, and I'm not going to lie to you, I want to spent some time with them too, but it's nothing, you will always have me by your side ok" Paige reassured Nina.

"I don't have any problem with your friends honestly, but…Emily it's a different matter, I don't want you anywhere near her" Paige raised an eyebrow when she heard that, she didn't like Nina telling her what she can and can't do, Nina sighed and explained "I saw the way she looked at you, she still wants you or maybe she feels something for you and I don't feel comfortable knowing that and I don't feel ok with you being there for her when she was the one who broke up with you because you weren't 'enough for her' but you know you are enough and more for me and…".

Paige felt like someone punched her in the gut, deep down she knew the real fear Nina had and she knew what Nina was saying was the truth. So she had to face facts, Emily was her past and now Nina is her future.

Paige cut Nina's argument with a kiss, a kiss that conveyed all of her feelings, a kiss she hoped it was the end of everything she felt for her past, luckily for her Nina didn't waste her time and she kissed her back fervently and they once again they were lost on their bodies and lost in their love.

A few hours passed and Paige looked at Nina who was now fast asleep, she went to the living room to pick up the clothes that were everywhere, she put her clothes on again and went outside for clean air.

She needed to clear her mind a little bit, but once again she didn't have a minute alone because pulling in her driveway were Aria and Emily.

Aria stayed on the doorstep waiting for Paige and Emily to say goodbye, once she greeted Paige and waved goodbye to Emily.

"I think you're stalking me" Paige suggested to Emily, she wasn't planning on saying goodbye but at the end her desire to speak to her won.

"Yeah don't sue me! I just came by to drop Aria…are you ok? You can trust me, it's the least I can do for 'stalking you'" Emily's smile faltered a little when she noticed the mood Paige was in after she spoke, she just shrugged at her question, she wanted to come out of the car and embrace her but they weren't on those terms yet.

Paige again felt guilty for having a small talk with the girl. "Uh yeah, thanks for dropping Aria here, have a good night Emily" she shot down the conversation quickly as she walked away from the car, leaving a confused Emily still on the driveway, minutes later she was gone.

She turned to Aria who still was on the front door.

"What's wrong?" Aria inquired, she noticed Paige slightly letting a low sigh, and she knew she won't talk unless she started "what happened with Nina, is she mad with you because of Emily or because of the fight with Hanna?" she regretted mentioning the last part, because she wasn't sure if Nina told her about the fight but seeing a wide eyed Paige she knew she messed up.

"We're ok now, we talked about it, but I guess we still need to talk some more" Paige finished the conversation too, she was tired, so she took Aria to their guest room and left her with a wave goodnight.

She then went to her room where she didn't sleep at all, many thoughts were going through her head, but only one kept replaying over and over in her mind like a broken record:

Emily Fields was back and now everything's changed.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the majority of the characters.**_

_**Flashbacks are in Italics**_

* * *

Paige was currently in the kitchen cooking breakfast for Nina and Aria, she woke up early, it's safe to say that she didn't sleep at all, so she decided to start the day doing something for her thoughts to shut down temporally.

She heard steps in the living room and then saw a very well rested Nina who smiled when she saw Paige in the kitchen.

"Did Aria came in last night?" Nina said as she approached Paige for her morning kiss.

Paige just nodded and went for a second kiss, they kiss turned into a heavy make out session that was abruptly interrupted when they heard Aria clearing her throat.

Paige was instantly embarrassed, and she wondered why is she always got caught in this predicaments, caught by her friends, every time she was with Nina.

"Oh sorry we didn't knew you were up, Paige made some breakfast, did you sleep well?" Nina politely asked, she was trying to hide her blush but Paige noticed, she liked seeing Nina being shy.

"Yeah thank you, I came in late last night. I'm sorry about yesterday, I shouldn't have left you, but I promise to be here for whatever you need" Aria promised, and Nina saw an opening to ask Aria to be one in her bridal party.

"I will take that offer you know the reason I called you before with such a hurry was because I want it to ask you something…" Paige saw Aria giving her a curious look before giving Nina an encourage nod for her to continue.

"I want to know if you would like to be one of my bridesmaids, I know this is sudden, but I like to think we've become close, and you know us and I want you to be part of this, so what do you say?" Nina asked looking between Aria and a surprised Paige.

"Um yeah…of course" Aria's reply was far more surprising for Paige. She didn't expect her girlfriend to ask that, and she definitely didn't expect her ex-girlfriend best friend to accept it.

This was turning into something.

"That's incredible Aria, thank you" Nina said as she hugged Aria.

Paige was watching the interaction between them, and she felt relieved for one part because they were getting along so well, now if that could be the other girls case it will be perfect, but on the other hand she knew this might be one of the worst ideas ever.

"So we have to do it official, how about we go out Friday night? We know this great place where we can go, or we can do anything you want, but we have to spend some quality time together no matter what" Nina added, Paige debated whether if Nina was doing this for real reasons or because she knew that she was going without her to reconnect with her old friends.

She didn't know what to do, she was looking forward to meeting the girls and Caleb but she also wanted to celebrate the friendship that Nina and Aria had been developing.

"It will be great, but actually I have some plans with the girls, but you can come with us" Aria was the one to speak first, sensing Paige's debacle in her head, she gave Paige a reassurance look, like she was saying that it was ok if Nina went with them.

"You're going honey right?" Nina asked Paige, and she nodded.

"So you're not busy?"

"I will never be busy for you" Paige knew she was being corny but she wanted to make sure that her girlfriend felt good.

"You guys are so cute" Aria said with a smile.

"Is she always been like this? You know being this cute and adorable and cheesy" Nina picked up the conversation back again.

"She has always been a good girl" Aria responded with a little smile, she felt uncomfortable with the idea of telling Nina that Paige was even more sweet, she remembered those times when she wished she had someone like Paige, she was perfect for Emily.

* * *

_"Hey Em, sorry for being late, I was just picking up this for you" Paige entered the room where all of the girls were, she came in with a bouquet of sorted flowers in one hand, she gave them to Emily with a chaste kiss, and she had in the other hand 3 single roses for her other friends._

_"And this is for you guys" Paige handed each girl a rose._

_"Can I have your girlfriend?" Hanna grabbed the rose with a smile as she blew a kiss to Paige, the other girls and Em laughed. _

_"No you can't have her Han she's mine" Emily went to give Paige another kiss and to put the bouquet on water in the kitchen. _

_She was listening to her friends talk to Paige._

_"You are making the boys look bad" Aria stated, with a smile on her face, she was stunned by how thoughtful Em girlfriend was. _

_"You definitely raised the standards for everyone" Spencer supported her friend's thoughts, they were all impressed by Paige. _

_When Emily came back she went straight to put the movie they were going to watch, her three friends were curled in the big couch and Paige was in a single couch, she decided to sit with her girlfriend, at the same time Paige opened up her arms for Emily to sit on her lap, and she practically ended straddling Paige._

_Emily rested her head in Paige's shoulder, two long arms were embracing her. _

_Paige was leaving traces of small kisses in Emily's head and face. They opted to watch each other instead of the movie but, as always they were interrupted by a pillow that was thrown in their way._

_"I'm cold and hungry, Em if you're not watching the movie then can I change it? And can you stop undressing each other with your eyes, we are in the same room and I'm freezing here by the way can you get me something Em" a very persistent Hanna whined and Hanna was even more annoyed when the same pillow found the way back to her face and the way the other girls were laughing._

_"Pizza will be here soon, and you know where the blankets are so go get them yourself" Emily said while she was still staring at Paige, not one time she looked back to see her friends, she was lost in those soft brown eyes, she notice the small smile that Paige was sporting. Paige kissed Emily for a while, and then she got up, leaving her enthralled._

_Paige got up to get Hanna her blanket, when she was on her way back she head the doorbell ringing 'must be the pizza' she thought, she opened the door and it was the pizza, she paid for the two boxes the girls ordered, and went to the kitchen for napkins and plates for the girls, she was about to grab everything till' a voice startled her._

_"Need some help?" Aria said standing in the other side of the kitchen, she heard the doorbell only ringing once, so she figured Paige already went for it. Aria thought she may need help, and when she entered the kitchen she knew she was right, Paige was fighting to have everything in place the blankets and the pizza boxes._

_"Yeah thank you" Paige thought it was better if she let Aria help her, she was about to drop everything._

_"You didn't have to do all of this things by yourself Paige" _

_"I didn't want to bother you guys with something that I could have done it myself, but I underestimate my super powers so...thanks" Paige gave Aria a grateful look when she took some of the things from her hands._

_Aria was happy with the way that Paige treated them, it was one thing that she went all ways for Emily but it was another thing that she wasn't like this with just Emily but with all of them as well._

_They went back to the living room, where they heard Hanna complaining again. _

_Paige went to the couch and put the blanket over Hanna; she grabbed a slice and also gave it to Hanna. And that certainly shut her up. _

_She did the same with all of the girls, leaving Emily with a wide smile as she did the same for her. _

_Emily made a space for her, so they resume the position they were in before._

_"Thank you, but you didn't have to treat them so well or they will want to intrude on our movie night again" Emily softly said, she still had a smile._

_"Hey Paige how much do we owe you for the pizza" Spencer spoke after her third slice._

_"No don't worry it's on me" Paige replied shortly after Spencer._

_"I think we should do this weekly, I could get used to it" Hanna implied. _

_Emily after hearing Hanna's comment punched Paige in the stomach "See what you've done" Paige only gave Emily a shake of her head trying to contain her laugher._

* * *

"So what happened with Hanna last night?" Paige inquired. She wanted to know since the moment Nina walked in the kitchen, and now that they were alone she took the opportunity to ask.

"What do you mean?" Nina fetched ignorance towards the matter.

Paige decided to play along until she decided to tell her herself.

"You were Hanna this Hanna that, you were almost close to ask her instead of Aria to be your bridesmaid, and now you couldn't even stand being in the same room with her" Paige subtly told Nina, she watched her face contort a little.

"Like I told you yesterday, I didn't like the way she talked to you, and I only pointed that to her, she was the one who yelled at me for not giving her the information she already had it, but she didn't look close enough, so it wasn't my fault she wasn't prepared" Nina at the end convinced Paige about it.

Paige knew that the story made sense, because she could see Hanna giving her a piece of her mind even though it wasn't completely true.

* * *

"Hello?" Emily answered her phone while she was still sleepy.

"Hey Em, sorry to wake you, but I wanted to tell you that Nina already asked me to be one of her bridesmaids and I said yes. I think she will continue with the wedding with you, but there's a slightly problem..." Aria was debating to tell her the change of plans for Friday.

She knew that Emily was looking forward to have some time with Paige and preferably alone but now if she wanted to have an opportunity to have her back she had to stick to the new plans.

"Which is?" Emily asked. She was hoping that it didn't had to do with Friday what Aria was about to tell her, but her fears were true.

"Uh Nina wanted to go out with us on Friday night, and she was pretty persistent and I told her that I had something with you guys but I told her she could join us, so she's coming too..."

"Oh, okay I guess its fine, maybe that way we can watch her here. Um is Paige okay? Yesterday she seemed sad" Emily replied recounting the events of last night that left her with certain unease.

"She had a fight with Nina but I guess they're fine now" Aria told her.

"What do we do about Friday?"

"We can do the same thing we planned to do"

"Yeah I guess you're right" The conversation continued until they parted ways and Emily went to get something to eat.

Emily was going downstairs when she heard Hanna hushing something over the phone, she caught some of the words and she stopped in her tracks...was Hanna talking to...no she couldn't...but why now?

She heard Hanna coming her way and she was to slow to hide but she acted like she was still waking up.

"Hey Em, how did you sleep" Hanna was fidgety and she didn't look Emily in the eyes, so she already knew with who she was on the phone.

"So what did she want?" Emily now was very straightforward.

Hanna sighed and said "Alison is coming on Friday..."


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own most of the characters.**

**Flashbacks are in Italics**

* * *

When Emily heard Hanna say that Alison was coming, she didn't knew exactly what to do or what to feel. She knew that eventually she had to make amends with her mistakes and Alison was one of them.

They were on their way to the office when finally Hanna broke the ice "Do we cancel the dinner?"

Honestly Emily thought that the dinner will probably be a disaster, she knew about the little talk Alison and Paige had, well she knew about it because Alison told her although she didn't really told her what went through but she knew that they finally talked and they made amends.

She wasn't sure if Alison told her the true at the time, but she sure hope it was true. She also wasn't sure if Paige knew about her relationship she had with Alison.

"No we don't have to...you know Nina's coming and now Alison too, yeah it's going to be a disaster"

"Nina's coming too? What? Why?" Hanna desperately asked, she felt lost in the conversation.

"Yea she is, Aria said she finally asked and she wanted to celebrate and she invited her on Friday but she instead wanted to have dinner with all of us" Emily finished her story as they went into their office.

Olivia welcomed them in a hush tone when they entered she was on the phone saying that they were already there, when Emily finally sat on her desk her phone rang it was a transfer call.

"Hello Emil..." she began saying but the other girl cut her

"Hey Emily...um it's Paige...yeah I'm calling because I don't know if Aria told you but were coming on Friday with Nina, I hope it's not a problem but...", Emily didn't want Paige to feel bad about the change of plans so she interrupted her "Hi Paige...it's not a problem at all, I mean she is your fiancée after all" Emily said and she heard a hard huff in the other line.

"Yeah you're right, um well I just wanted to give you a heads up...Yeah I'm late for class...I'll talk to you later. Bye Emily"

She was startled by Hanna's voice when she was trying to think how everything was so different and how much she wants things to be like when she was with Paige and just happy.

"What did Paige said?" Hanna sat on the edge of Emily's desk facing the girl straight ahead.

"She wanted to let us know that Nina is coming too, she seemed torn and I told her it was fine because she is her girlfriend, so I reminded her she had a fiancée when I'm trying her to forget that...ugh and worst of all I didn't get the chance to tell her Alison is coming too" Emily said.

Hanna's heart broke at the sight of her tired friend, she figured she didn't sleep last night because of all this. She stood up and went to her side to give her a comforting hug which was reciprocated by Emily clinging into the hug.

"I haven't seen Alison since we broke up and I don't know what went through with her and Paige and I don't even know if Paige knows that we dated and now I go and remind her that she's engaged I..."

"This is about seeing Alison for the first time after you guys broke up isn't it?" Hanna intuited.

Emily just nodded and they stayed embraced for a while. It was also because she didn't want Paige to know that she dated Alison, and she was one of the reasons she broke up with her.

* * *

Paige was on her way to pick Abbie for their class, when she remembered she needed to call the girls to let them know that Nina was coming too, she put it on speakerphone, and Olivia picked up, she was exchanging pleasantries with each other when she heard Olivia greeting Emily and Hanna, she took the courage to ask for one of them and to her 'luck' she was speaking to Emily.

"Hello Emil..." she knew the minute she spoke who she was

"Hey Emily...um it's Paige...yeah I'm calling because I don't know if Aria told you but were coming on Friday with Nina, I hope it's not a problem but..." She knew she was rambling by now so Emily decided to interrupt this time. "Hi Paige, it's not a problem at all, I mean she is your fiancée after all" Paige sighed into the phone, Emily was right, Nina was her fiancée and it shouldn't be a problem at all, if they want to be a part of her life then they have to accept that now she's a big part of it.

She arrived and Abbie was already waiting for her, when she got in, Paige held up a finger for her to wait for a second "Yeah you're right, um well I just wanted to give you a heads up...Yeah I'm late for class...I'll talk to you later. Bye Emily" Paige hung up before she could reply.

Abbie just gave her an odd look.

"What?" Paige asked.

"What do you mean what? Was that Emily Emily?" Abbie was surprised by the turn of events, and if she was right, then her friend had a lot of explaining to do.

"Yeah..." she wanted to have some time to explain all of the things that happened to her since New York, but after long 5 minutes Abbie couldn't help it and asked "So that's all you are going to say Paige come on!" Abbie seemed to have limited her patience when Paige didn't tell her anything.

"Can I tell you after class, I'm not sure if I could give you all the details that you need right now, can you hold it up a little bit more?" Paige looked over to her friend who gave her a dubious nod, they entered their class but as soon as the class started Paige could only think about all of the things that have happened in the last few weeks.

"Ok I waited almost 2 hours for you to tell me something, come on Paige" Abbie again insisted.

Paige began to tell her about everything; the first moment she saw Emily, Spencer and Hanna, how she's going to see everybody on Friday with Nina, she covered everything in the hours they had but Paige never covered what she felt, and she should've know better, after all Abbie was her best friend.

"What do you feel, I mean what do you feel about Emily being back and as for what you've told me she's back and trying to have a sort of friendship with you, and the others I mean Nina isn't happy with you reconnecting with all of them, what do you feel about all of that?" Abbie listed all of Paige's omissions.

"Honestly I feel the same way, I love Nina and for now seeing the girls is a good thing, I know what Nina feels about them, she's scared but she has nothing to be scared of...I want to prove her on Friday that we can be part of each other's lives" Paige said truthfully, she was hoping that Friday goes well.

But she isn't counting on Alison being there and Emily wanting to win her back.

"Is Emily still with Alison?" Abbie asked.

"I don't know, maybe she is maybe she isn't and I don't want to know either, I just hope she's happy" Paige just answered vaguely, she always had that thought in the back of her mind, since the first time she knew about them being an item.

* * *

_-Pick up, come on pick up- Paige thought after the fifth ring, but Emily didn't. _

_Paige wanted to tell her that she was already in Stanford and she wanted to be friends again but the call was cancelled._

_She was on her way to the nearest coffee shop when she saw a girl fumbling with her moving boxes so she went to help her. _

_"Hey thank you, I saw like 8 people pass me but you were the only one who stopped to help me...I'm Abbie..." the little girl spoke._

_After helping the hopeless girl move all of her boxes to the room, Paige wanted to leave for dinner, since helping left her very hungry and the girl somehow figured it out. _

_"Let me pay you please" Abbie said after Paige grabbed the two last boxes from her._

_"No worries, I'm glad to help" Paige said after putting the last box on the bed, she was about to leave when Abbie invited her to dinner and she said yes._

_They were having a good time, until she felt her phone vibrating in her pockets, she felt her heart beating fast as she saw Emily's name on her screen, she called her back._

_"I'm sorry I have to take this, excuse me" Paige apologized, she answered at the fourth ring._

_"Um Em, hi I..." Paige began but the giggles on the other side made her stop. _

_-Stop Alison, I can't take it anymore..._

_-Just one more kiss, and I promise to... _

_Now that made her stomach drop for a different reason. _

_So Emily didn't call her back she made a pocket dial and she was with Alison. Now everything was a mess. _

_She was in Stanford, in the college she dreamt about for forever but she wasn't with the girl of her dreams, she couldn't enjoy the things she hoped for her life to be, just because of her._

_"Hey Paige are you ok?" Abbie brought Paige back to reality._

_"Not really, hmm my ex-girlfriend is with the girl who made my life miserable at one time, she apologized though but, it's not even that I just wanted to..." Paige began to tell her all about it and since then Abbie and Paige became great friends, not only Abbie helped her overcome her fears and broken dreams, she made her feel loved in times of doubt. _

_They were inseparable after that day. The term best friends didn't do justice for them, they were like sisters, where one of them was the other wasn't far behind._

_When Paige got the job at her girlfriend company she had to move to Los Angeles and change colleges, she moved for her last year to UCLA, and she was very surprised the very first day when she found Abbie had changed too, she knew it was for her, but Abbie kept denying that statement and kept saying "it's for her future, and of course for the hottest girls and boys that were waiting for her"_

* * *

After that long story Abbie and Paige found themselves in Paige's favorite place, the beach.

"So since I'm your best man or best woman...whatever... what are the plans for the upcoming weeks, I'm sensing you need my help because let's face it you need me and after all I've heard about your 'little friends' I want to meet them too. And since I AM your best friend, I need to meet the great love of your life" Paige smiled and cringed after her last statement.

"You've meet the great love of my life. I don't know why do you keep insisting that I'm making a mistake and let me remind you, it was your fault that I've fallen in love with Nina, since it was your idea of playing matchmaker" Paige pointed a finger to her face and Abbie playfully slapped the finger away.

"I don't know maybe I will ask Caleb to be my best man after all, hey maybe I will tell him on Fri..." Abbie knocked her over the sand and straddle her, not letting her finish.

"Don't even think about it Paige McCullers, I swear I would personally kill that Caleb guy if he takes you from me" Abbie said while Paige rolled her eyes.

"You know what from now on I'm going to every appointment you have and I will go on Friday too, as a matter of fact lets go over to their office now I want to meet them...Come on Paige" That was a very determined Abbie, Paige knew she had no other option that go along to whatever Abbie wanted and deep down she wanted Abbie to meet the girls as soon as possible too.

Paige had two spare hours before she had to go to work.

So now she found herself with Abbie at the parking lot of Emily's building.

"Hey Abbie I don't know if this is a good idea maybe you can meet them at some other time" Abbie didn't knew what got Paige nervous, she giggled after thinking why could possibly be on Paige's mind.

"Relax, I know they will like me and I would like them back, and if it is for the embarrassing stories I have about you then yes you should worry, because I have tons of them" At that Paige relaxed a little, Abbie wasn't that far behind, she only missed the part that she was always nervous to see Emily, because a part of her still loved her.

"Come on, I promise you I will be in my best behavior"


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own most of the characters.**

* * *

"Hello Emily, the hot fiancée is here with a friend, they wanted to see if you and Hanna are free, do I send them?" Olivia's voice resonated through all of the office.

Emily instantly picked the phone and told her to send them in.

Hanna was currently on a meeting with another client, she left Emily alone with her thoughts and for some relaxing, but obviously she couldn't catch a break.

"So you must be Emily, I'm Abbie the best man-woman whatever, I'm Paige best friend, sorry to interrupt, were you busy? I just wanted to meet you guys" Abbie bombarded Emily with questions.

Paige was nowhere to be found when Abbie started talking, Emily got up from her seat and extended her hand for Abbie to reach it, she was happy that she might have a new insight on Paige's life after all these years apart.

"Not busy for you at all, please sit, so where's Paige" Emily looked at Abbie for her answer just as Paige entered with a smiley Hanna.

"Don't forget to bring the vodka"

"Aren't you pregnant? Paige laughed at Hanna's request.

"Well yeah but it will be needed, trust me, if…everyone is going to be there you know" Hanna covered up her almost slip up just fine.

"Hey, Paige don't listen to Hanna that's just her hormones talking, your presence will be enough" She smiled fondly at Paige while giving a side look to Hanna, an indication for her to shut up.

Sensing something weird Abbie proceeded to introduce herself "Hey I'm Abbie don't mind me, you must be Hanna right?" Abbie smiled when Hanna nodded, confused about her presence.

"It's finally nice to meet the face behind all the crazy stories"

"Yes in the flesh, nice to meet you too Abbie, shoot I forgot I'm in the middle of a meeting right now, but it's almost finished, so how about we get a coffee after the meeting, I properly want to hear the stories that Paige told you and maybe a little more about this one" she said after pinching lightly Paige's cheek, she went out the door then, leaving the three girls behind.

"So I heard Abbie is your maid of honor, so how did you too meet?" a very curious Emily asked.

"Well it was on our first day in Stanford, I helped her with some boxes, she fetched me afterwards and since then she has followed me everywhere, hence us being here after we both left Stanford" Paige smiled at the memory she just shared.

Emily wanted to ask her why she left Stanford, but she remembered something Spencer said about Paige working for Nina's father, and she didn't want to intrude if it was personal. They weren't on those terms yet.

"What have you been doing all these years, this one hasn't told me that yet" Abbie innocently said, she didn't notice the surprise face that Emily gave her, Emily was happy that Paige had mentioned her, she didn't know in what context but overall she mentioned her, and that was a work in progress right.

"I studied at Hollis, I already have a degree on marketing, but along the way I've made a couple of bad decisions and now I'm here to fix it" Emily said, her focus was only on Paige, who kept looking around the room, avoiding her stare.

"I own half of this company but I left Hanna to take care of it all by herself but now that she's pregnant I had to take care of the business and it became handy because I got to see you Paige and to meet you Abbie, although I would've preferred us to see each other in another way but...yeah" That last part surprised Abbie and she didn't miss the intense stare that Emily had on Paige.

Abbie just smiled at Emily knowing what she implied and she caught up pretty quickly what she meant when she said the thing about her wanting to fix her mistakes, one of them being Paige herself.

Paige being Paige didn't noticed what Emily had intended to say after her explanation.

A call interrupted their conversation, and Olivia's voice came through the intercom, "I have Alison Dilaurentis calling, and she's very persisting on speaking to you, do you want to take the call?" Emily instantly picked the phone, not for the reasons Paige was thinking.

"Hello Alison...wait a second" Emily put her hand over the speaker when she saw Paige leaving suddenly "Where are you going?" she asked her.

Paige said she had to go to work, while giving Abbie a look, it took seconds for her to realize the urgency in Paige wanting to leave, and she just nodded and let her leave.

Abbie wanted to stay for other reasons so she just said to Paige to call her. Paige gave Emily a strained smile and went out the door. She looked over at Abbie who mouthed 'go ahead'.

"Sorry I...hello?" she heard nothing on the other line, so Alison hang up. 'Great she thought'

"You know Paige didn't have to work, well she does but not in a couple of hours, that's why we came here" Abbie explained but Emily seemed lost until she figured it out.

"You know why she left right?" when she saw Emily nod in confirmation she asked "Is Alison your girlfriend?" Abbie wanted nothing more to hear that she wasn't.

She let out a long sigh "No she's not my girlfriend"

Just then Hanna came through the door, with a crinkle on her forehead.

"I finished my meeting earlier just for us to hang out with Paige and you already scared her off again, how do you plan now to win her back if you keep doing this stuff, now what did you do this time Emily, I don't know how to help you" Emily felt her body leave the room when Hanna mentioned the plan while Abbie was there.

"Hanna, do you remember Abbie, Paige's best friend" She pointed with her head slightly towards Abbie who had a big smile on her face.

"Hey again don't mind me...actually whatever you're trying to do..."

"Hey no I'm sorry Abbie I just wanted to say that Emily wanted to win back her friendship and..." Hanna began to mend the mistake she made, but Abbie's laugh cut her ramblings "No, I know exactly what you're trying to do, and I want to tell you that I'm in" Abbie said to both surprised girls "So what about that coffee I was promised".

* * *

After 3 glasses of wine and a juice for Hanna, the girls where on Hanna's couch chatting.

"So you were telling us how much you want this because" Hanna began again the course of the conversation, both Emily and Hanna liked Abbie, she was pretty much like them, very straightforward and protective.

"I've known Paige for like 4 years now and these two weeks I've seen her question everything. I know she loves Nina but I know that deep down she knows that they're not meant to be"

Emily was sure by now that it was the right thing to do, and Abbie too. Emily began telling Abbie her part of the story, and she convinced Abbie that she wanted Paige back as something more but if that didn't work out then at least as something.

They spend most of the night telling each other stories about Paige, it was almost 1 am when Hanna went to bed leaving Emily and Abbie alone, for some reason Emily felt nervous to be alone with her, because even if she told her a lot of things, Hanna was there to include her opinion and that was most of the time, but now having Paige's best friend one on one was a different thing, she wanted Abbie to like her.

"I don't know if I really want to destroy their relationship, I mean I want her, but what I want more is for her to be happy" Emily sincerely expressed.

Abbie knew how she felt, she wanted her best friend to be happy at the end, and she was sure if she ended with Emily that she will be happy.

* * *

Paige after hearing Alison's name made an excuse for leaving, she was almost at the door when Hanna stopped her "Where do you think you're going young lady?"

"Um what, are you ok Hanna" Paige was confused.

"I'm practicing what I'm going to say to my future baby, now hush, where are you going" Hanna repeated.

"I got a thing at work" Paige lied, even though she tried to hide the lie, Hanna didn't believed her.

"Ok, what did Emily do" Hanna was sure she caught a glint of hurt in Paige's eyes.

"Nothing I just really need to go, I guess I will see you on Friday, bye" Paige hurriedly went out the door, she didn't let Hanna convince her to stay.

'Great! this is just great' Paige thought, she could've stayed, but again she didn't knew why she felt that way.

She thought that she was happy, she had everything she wanted, but for some reason she always ran away from the heartache that Emily caused her and now the only thing she knew what to do for this type of situations was to call Nina, so she did.

After a minute Nina picked up "Hey babe, are you ok? Where are you, weren't you supposed to be in class?"

"Hi Nin, I just wanted to hear you voice, yeah everything is fine, and we got out earlier, so I'm on my way the office, are you there, I need to talk to you"

"Is everything ok? You sound sad. I'm not in the office right now, but I could be there, my dad sent me this case, if I can I will meet you there, I have to go, see you. I love you" Before Paige could answer back Nina already hang up the phone.

Paige was already thinking the possibilities to get out of the dinner, she realized having the girls back in her life was a good thing, but ultimately she had moved on and she intended her life to stay the same.

That's what she wanted to tell Nina, she was going to tell her that she wanted to change agencies for the wedding, after the dinner on Friday she planned to tell them the news.

She was already in her office when Nina's dad came in.

"Paige, you're early, well it gives us time"

"Yeah I got out and came here, Paul what's on your mind" Paige answered.

Having Nina's father sitting across from her with that scrutinized look on him always made her squeamish. He got up to pick the old scotch on the counter, he poured two drinks and handed one to Paige, she took a big sip and found herself sitting in front of her desk while Paul sat behind her desk again.

"How's my daughter treating you, I heard you had some interference on your wedding plans?" Paul stated somewhat inquiring.

Paige knew Nina was a daddy's girl, so Nina must have told him about it.

"She is the best and has always been...Interference what do you mean by that?" Paige feigned ignorance, but she knew dam well what he meant by interference.

"Well, she hadn't asked me for help in any way which is weird, and she first told me she absolutely loved her wedding planners and that strikes me, because for what I know they were your friends, and if I got the right information from my sources, one of them is your ex-girlfriend, and that certainly is something interesting to say the least, so you tell me is this interference something I should be worried about?"

Paige couldn't help to spill some of her drink when she heard him mention Emily, but she covered it up quickly.

"Um, well it's nothing to be worried about, we are fine, but it might be a little strange so that's why I was considering telling Nina to change agencies. But she has to decide on whether we stay with them or we change, but at the end what I want it's the best for her and for this wedding"

"I'm glad to hear that Paige, I'm sure my daughter will choose wisely, and I hope you do too. Since we cleared this up, I suppose we could leave it right here, you could go home tonight, maybe you could surprise her with dinner or something, I put her to work on a big case so she will appreciate me sending you earlier to make her something nice"

"Thank you, I will. I'm going to make a few phone calls before I leave though. Have a good night Paul, and send Hayley my best. We need to have a family dinner soon" She told him before he grabbed her hand and squeezed gently, he gave her a genuine smile before leaving.

"I'm sure my wife will be thrilled to have a family night again. Don't stay too long, have a good night Paige"

After he left her office, she immediately called Abbie but after 2 missed calls she decided to call Nina.

She was happy to hear that she couldn't make it to the office like she intended to do, and she would be home a little later than expected that gave Paige time to plan something nice for their night ahead.

She went to pick up food from Nina's favorite restaurant, she bought some flowers along the way too, and then went home.

It was 10 o'clock when Nina came through the door. She was tired and a little bit cranky, the case took her longer than she expected and it was nowhere near finished but now she was glad she was home after seeing Paige at the dinner table with flowers, wine and what it looked like her favorite meal.

She went straight ahead to kiss Paige. At first it was sweet and comforting but then Nina was so content and less bitter than she was minutes before and she intensified their kiss by grabbing her ass and biting her neck, they were smiling at each other, after the kiss ended.

"Wow happy to see me?" Was Paige's question after seeing the hunger in Nina's eyes and a little smirk on her face.

"I guess I'm too happy to see you, and the bite-mark you're sporting right now on your neck is prove" Nina saw Paige panic after telling her what she had done but then she just saw a flicker in Paige's eyes and a knowing look before placing her in front of the table. She handed her the flowers and a glass of wine.

"How's the case going?" Paige asked after her last bite, they were enjoying the silence and the food.

"It's good, you did the difficult part though, I think it needs fixing but, overall that's what I was doing, I have to do more changes before dinner tomorrow"

By then they were both satisfied, they went to the couch with their glasses, and Nina snuggled into Paige, she wrapped an arm across Paige's stomach, and Paige was leaning against Nina. She absolutely loved these moments.

"There is something on your mind, would you tell me what's wrong?" Nina asked, she could see it in her fiancée's face that something was troubling her.

After a few minutes Paige still didn't respond, so she asked again "You said you needed to talk to me, are you having second thoughts because if you do…"

"No, I'm not having second thoughts. I was just thinking, you said you wanted to change to another agency and well if you still want to then I'm ok with it. I mean we will still invite the girls but maybe there is someone better, and we could tell them tomorrow"

"Babe, there's no one better than them…So no, I don't want to. They know you, and they know what you want, so they're the best we can get, and they're actually good, Hanna's done a pretty good job so far, but if you want to change for other reasons like Emily then maybe we can"

Paige saw the logic in Nina's words, even if it was because of Emily she didn't want to say it out loud, so she wanted to prove to Nina she didn't have to worry about anything or anyone to come between them.

"I was just thinking about you Nin, I want you to have everything, it doesn't matter how we get there, I just want you to be happy. Now how about I prove that to you" Paige picked Nina up and led them to the bedroom. She threw a laughing Nina to the bed, while she stripped down.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I don't own most of the characters.**

**Flashbacks are in Italics**

* * *

It was Friday and with the new information provided by Abbie, Emily was undecided about the plan to get Paige back.

On one hand, Paige was happy with Nina that was a fact but, she was also conflicted with her feelings towards Emily coming back.

After her long shower she came downstairs already dressed, she went for her coffee mug.

She was having trouble with sleeping without a drink, she had a couple of drinks yesterday with Abbie, but it was different she wasn't drinking to oblivion.

Now coffee was all she needed.

She was about to sit down when the door flew open, Hanna and Alison coming through it.

She didn't say a word, Hanna of course was the first to see her so she blocked Emily from Alison's view. But she saw Emily giving her a nod, indicating that it was ok.

"Hey do you mind if I go and take a shower, I couldn't before, because you came earlier, feel free to do anything you want, just don't burn the house down kids" Emily rolled her eyes at Hanna's attempt to leave the room.

Lately Hanna always tried to sound like a mother, and Emily sometimes found it funny and sweet but other times like this one got her losing her mind because she wasn't a kid and she definitely didn't want to be there.

"Hey, do you want a cup of coffee" Emily was sure that Alison could hear her heart thumping wildly, while she nodded for the offer.

She handed her the cup and took a seat in front of her.

"So…how are things in Seattle" Emily began asking after the awkward silence filled the room.

"They're ok, I almost finish my degree, I have a great place, I'm working part time, and I have someone… How about you? What are you doing here? Has the drinking stopped or you're here for rehab?" she said that with a smirk.

Emily knew what Alison was doing.

Making her see she made a mistake by leaving her, letting her know all of the things she could've had with her, and mostly she wanted to tell her what did her actions drive her to do, and that was drinking, and most parts were true, but she wasn't going to give her the satisfaction.

She knew bits and pieces about Alison's life thanks to Hanna, and maybe that's what Hanna's being doing for Alison's too. Delivering information she shouldn't have.

"I'm back for what I should've done 4 years ago. I need Paige, that hasn't changed, she is the one for me…So what are you doing here Alison?" Her reply was short cutting to the chase.

"So Paige huh...Hanna mentioned something about tonight and something tells me it's going to be a long night Em" Alison just kept staring at her, she looked like she knew something about Emily that she didn't knew.

She was one step ahead of her, like always.

Except for the one time they were together and everything was great until Emily choose Paige over her and she didn't expected it all.

* * *

_"Honey what's wrong" Pam was worried about her daughter, she went to look for her at her bedroom._

_Emily was at her window seat, crying, she was clinging to a jacket and a letter. _

_She remembered Paige stopping by a few nights ago, she had a jacket when she saw her outside but maybe she left without it, and she presumed she left a letter too._

_When Emily saw her mother standing by the door, she just broke down again, mumbling incoherent words, until she found herself wrapped in her mother's arms. She was telling her soothing words, but at the end she wasn't helping at all because she didn't knew what she needed to tell her._

_"Honey, I think everything will be fine, Paige will come back if you ask her to, or you could go this time to her, I think you guys could be friends, even if you are with Alison" Her mother told her sincerely._

_"No mom, she won't, she left" Emily again broke down, crying even more forcefully than before_

_When she calmed down a little, she continued "I can't go to her house, because she's not there, she left for Stanford the other day. Remember when she came by, well she came to apologize I think but then she said goodbye, and I didn't listen to her"_

_"Honey how do you know she's in Stanford, if you didn't listen to her?" Even though her tone was now more neutral she wanted it to make sense._

_"It was freezing outside, and you know Paige, she didn't want me to get a cold, so she removed her jacket and gave it to me, and I guess she intended to give this letter to me but she forgot. I told her that she deserved the best of everything…and…and she told me that that's what she had, and now I've ruined what sure was the best thing I had. Mom I love her, but now she's gone, and god Alison was a mistake and…" Now for Pam it was very difficult to hear everything that came afterwards, Emily just cried._

_After Emily's tears subsided she help her up to her bed and tucked her in, she didn't left her side though, because Emily kept her at her side. _

_"I know it's hard, but everything will be alright, you just have to give her time, I know she will reach out to you, maybe not the way you want it but, she will, if not, then you do something…And as for Alison, honey she wasn't a mistake, you needed to know if what you felt was real, you had to sort out what you had for her before moving on. If you were still with Paige eventually you would've drifted apart and you would have ended in worse terms, you will see, everything will be fine honey"_

_It took 2 days for Emily to take courage and call Alison._

_She told her she wanted to see her, when Alison came through the door Emily let her in without giving her a kiss like she did the last couple of days. _

_Her mom came to the room to greet Alison, when she caught Emily's eyes, she understood what she was about to do, so she made up an excuse to leave them alone._

_"So we have the house to ourselves, what do you suggest we do" Alison said as she reached for her kiss, Emily was faster so she turned, and Alison's kiss ended in her cheek. She just smiled at her while leading them to the couch._

_She took her phone down on the table, while she positioned herself at the end of the couch while Alison sat at the other end, they watched each other for a minute, when Emily's cellphone ranged, she didn't get to see who was calling because Alison took her phone and shoved her in her hoodie._

_"Give me the phone Ali". Alison kept a smirk, and gave her a shake of her head. _

_"No, until you tell me what's wrong. You've been kind of off this entire time, and you said you needed to talk, so tell me" She was keeping control of her emotions, if Paige's call told her that she was back in contact with her, then she knew what was the talk going to be about and she couldn't let that happen, she didn't want to lose her because of Paige._

_A few minutes passed, and the silence became unbearable again for both of them so Alison continued._

_"Did I do something wrong, because you know this is new to me, and I think…I know I love you, but I think I love you love you…" Emily was surprised by the admission, she didn't know if it was real or not, given the circumstances having Alison telling her that, she felt relieved, and she felt happy, but she didn't felt complete like when Paige told her she loved her. So again this was a sign._

_"Um you didn't do anything wrong Ali…" Emily began but Alison knew what was coming so she threw herself to Emily and gave her a peck, sensing Emily didn't retracted she went for more._

_Emily felt giddy for some reason but she put it at the back of her mind, while Alison continued to steal some kisses, she saw her hand retrieve her phone from the hoodie but again she didn't see the screen, so she didn't see Alison calling Paige._

_"You want this" Alison said with a smirk, while blocking the screen. _

_She reached out to her to give her more kisses, she pestered Emily with small kisses all over her face and for some reason Emily didn't found it as cute anymore but, she couldn't stop the giggles when she saw Alison being so needy._

_"Stop Alison, I can't take it anymore" Emily said as she saw Alison, reaching for her this time for a real kiss._

_"Just one more kiss, and I promise to give you your phone back". Emily accepted that, maybe that will be their last kiss, so she met her halfway._

_It wasn't like the kisses she shared with Paige, not even the pecks she shared with her ex-girlfriend, it was sweet but she didn't felt the explosion she always felted with Paige._

_"Alison stop, I…" Emily began to say, but she couldn't find the words, until she remembered what her mom said the other night._

_"You were my first love, and when you disappeared my world crashed down, I searched and endured A's games because I thought about the possibility that you weren't dead. I thought that I moved on when I found Maya, but then again she died, and I felt that my world was crashing down again, but it wasn't the same like losing you, then I had Paige, the most genuine thing I had in my life"_

_"Tell me Emily" Alison was now the Alison that Emily knew, she said those words with force._

_"I loved you, but when I saw you again I was so conflicted about my feelings, because yeah I was happy that you were back and alive and somewhat safe, but I was really mad because I thought that you didn't trust me, but after 2 years of A you stood there just watching and hiding from us. When you came back the feelings I had for you also returned, but now I realize that they're not the same feelings I had for you, but when we started this, I was being selfish and I was giving what I thought that I wanted a try, but along the way I lost what I really wanted and what I really want, you know the best of everything"_

_"And what I'm not it, I'm not the best? Because I wanted to protect you all these years, when I suffered in silence when I had no one, when I saw you with multiple girls and I couldn't even be with you, I'm not the best because of that? You know what Emily, you and Paige deserve each other, I thought you changed and that you were stronger and smarter than that, but I see you're not. You are delusional for picking her instead of me" She left without saying another word, she just looked at Emily as a failed experiment._

_Emily felt like a weight has been lifted off, but she also felt like she couldn't breathe because of the magnitude of losing Paige finally hit her._

* * *

Alison went to take a shower after their short conversation.

Emily was already stressed, she didn't knew what the day was going to be, but if the way that Alison was an indication then it was going to be a long night.

Hanna on the other hand was ecstatic, she was planning the dinner like it was her own wedding dinner.

"What did the monster said? You look like you've seen a ghost" Hanna noticed, Emily just rolled her eyes.

"Nothing much really, she told me how perfect her life is, and asked me if I was in rehab, you know same old story" she said that with a pointed look.

"Hey it's not my fault if you ever drunk called her too…" Emily gave a disbelieving look to Hanna.

"Ok but, in my defense I told her because I was being a good friend, she was miserable for a while so she asked me about you, and I couldn't tell her that you were here because you wanted the reason you broke up with her back. So I instead told her that you were here because you were going to some sort of rehab or cleanse here I don't remembered but hey I did you a favor"

Emily again gave her a disbelieving look, while she laughed, she knew Hanna's intentions were good, she couldn't ask for a better friend than her.

"If this kid turns out to be just like you, then you will see stars, I can't wait to see it!" She said while hugging Hanna.

"Caleb could you go to the grocery store to buy all of the ingredients, I want some flowers for the table too so go buy them" Hanna pleaded when the only thing that Caleb was doing was watching TV, she was on the verge of having a little melt down.

"Yeah babe, which flowers do you want me to get" Caleb saw Emily mouthing something but it was too late when Hanna threw him a pillow on his face.

"Do I have to do everything around here, OMG Emily please go help him"

They were in line to pay for groceries, when Caleb spoke up "This night is highly anticipated, again how is this going to help you get Paige back? Last thing I knew was that Paige and Alison hated each other, and everyone hates Nina"

"I don't know how it will go tonight but I hope it will make Paige consider the possibility of us being back in her life, and I hope everyone is at their best behavior, you will see it for yourself" Emily declared.

"Oh no, I'm not going to be there, I thought Hanna told you, I'm not getting behind this crazy idea, and it's going to be girls night, and you guys will probably will end up being best friends, so I'm saving the headache for another day" Caleb was serious and that made Emily nervous.

"She didn't tell me, well now that I think more about it, can I go with you" Emily pleaded while Caleb chuckled.

"Nope, it was your idea Em, now don't stress yourself, everything happens for a reason, so you go in there, do the best you can, and you will see that everything will be fine" Caleb's words were working a little bit, but Emily really was dreading the night.

Caleb left Emily back at the house, and he left in a hurry, he didn't want Hanna to convince him to stay, or even Emily who was giving him puppy eyes every once in a while.

"Hey honey I'm home" Emily yelled at Hanna, she wanted Hanna to smile, since she saw her so stressed out before she left.

What she didn't expect was seeing Paige standing in the kitchen with a glass of wine and cooking.

She smiled at Emily's entrance, and motioned her to be quiet because Hanna was asleep on the couch, slightly snoring.

"Glad to have you home honey" Paige winked at her, she saw Emily blush but she discarded it as embarrassment.

"What are you doing here so early, I thought you were coming with Nina in two hours" she pointed out.

She didn't want to sound rude, but she didn't like to be out of control.

"Hanna called me, almost crying over her supposedly failure, and when I came here, you and Caleb where gone, so I steeped in, and that's why I'm here early. I told her to rest for a bit, she wasn't doing anything good for the baby" Emily smiled because Paige was still sweet and caring as she was before and it warmed her heart and her whole body.

"So what are we making" Emily raised her eyebrow waiting for Paige's answer.

"We huh? Well before you came here. I was making fettuccine, but Hanna didn't had spices to make the cream"

"I brought everything you need, I got you" Paige just smiled at Emily, she handed her some spices for her to chop. They were enjoying their company in silence, until they heard a groan coming from the couch.

Hanna felt a lot better, her smile got wider when she saw Paige and Emily cooking together and smiling like idiots, like idiots in love.

"If I knew you were home I would have slept more! How is everything going? Did you buy all of the stuff?" Hanna asked.

She was oblivious to the look Emily was giving her, sometimes she was so dense.

Emily just wanted more time with Paige.

"Yes I did, why didn't you tell me Caleb was not staying?" Emily asked Hanna with an inquisitive look.

"Wha…what Caleb is not coming? Why?" Paige asked too, she was hoping to see his friend, it was one of the reasons she wanted this dinner to happen and now she was more nervous now that it will be only them.

"Because he realized that he was going to be the only guy, and he didn't want to interfere on girls talk, and we're going to talk about the wedding and things, so I gave him permission to skip this dinner, but he'll be back, he wants to see you" Hanna told them, it made sense in a way, they both thought, but still Paige wished Caleb had stayed.

After an hour everything was ready, and the three of them found themselves on the couch.

Emily was looking intendedly at Paige who was listening to Hanna story about her wedding.

Emily took the time to watch Paige freely, she didn't see what she was wearing before because she was using an apron but now that she saw her, her mouth went dry, she was wearing black skinny jeans and a grey Zoey sweater that had an open crew line and with black ankle boots, she sure has changed, from the girl who only used sneakers and t-shirts to this delicate but at the same time conservative girl.

She looked so composed, and so good that Emily didn't mind when she was caught staring.

Paige on the other hand couldn't stay still when Emily kept staring intently at her, she tried to see if it wasn't just her imagination but it was true, Emily radiated something like longing or was it hunger, either way she knew it was because she was seeing her.

When they locked eyes, Emily kept staring, and Paige had to look away, for both of their sakes, but after a while she glanced back and she saw a little smile on Emily's face that brought her back to reality.

Hanna seeing this display went to look for something in the kitchen, so when Paige turned to look at Hanna she didn't see her on the couch, and she only listened to the insistent knocking on the door.

Emily only saw Paige giving her a weird look, she was trying to tell her something, and after a while she understood what she was telling her, someone was at the door.

She got up quickly and went to open it, she slapped herself mentally because she forgot to tell Paige that Alison was coming to dinner and well now she didn't have to because, there she was.

If it weren't for Hanna she wouldn't be in her personal hell, and there she thought that Emily somehow wasn't with Alison, but maybe she was right, for now she couldn't even form a proper greeting when Aria gave her a wave when she appeared behind her.

* * *

When Alison saw Paige, she gave Emily a lingering kiss on her cheek, after that she smirked at Paige who looked like she was frozen on her spot.

"Hello Alison, how are you" Paige greeted her first.

"I've never been better" was her reply, Paige knew that it was because of Emily, she guessed they were still together.

They moved to the couch on the living room were Alison again sat next to Emily, she tried to sat as close as possible to her, with Emily obliviousness, she succeeded.

Emily watched Alison very closely, she was starting to realize the little and subtle touches, the way she spoke like it was referring to what they had but in a present tense, after Alison told Paige she was very happy in her love life while she was giving her a smile, she knew what Alison was doing and she was shocked when she turn to Paige to see if she believed her which she did, Paige thought that she was with Alison and she was okay with it.

After a while, the only one talking was Aria and Alison here and there.

Emily was giving Hanna a nod towards the stairs, and Hanna understood her, she got up and went upstairs followed by Emily and later by Aria.

* * *

Paige watched as Aria left the room to go upstairs where she assumed something was happening, she was just staring at the wall when she heard Alison talk

"Are you still pining over Emily" she said it with pity in her voice.

"Pining? What are you talking about I'm…" she began explaining her current situation when Alison continued "You know she's here for me, you know you will always be her second choice, so don't flatter yourself by thinking that she wants you" Alison scoffed in emphasis and continued "I'll always be her best option, you know I'm right, and think again if you wanted to come between us again, I owned you once, I can own you again Paige, so stay away from Emily" that she said it with her bitchy demeanor.

There she was with the Alison she knew. The manipulative and cold hearted bitch, it took her years to stop being afraid, and now she wasn't even moved by Alison little stunt to get to her.

She was considering laughing at Alison's childish way to overcome her insecurities, she thought that they were ok, but it seems that they weren't ok.

But the bigger question was, Emily and Alison weren't together anymore, so why did Alison think that she wanted to get between them? She didn't know what to do or think.

Fortunately Abbie did, she heard every single word that was uttered by Alison, and she wasn't having any of it.

* * *

"Why is Alison here Hanna?" Emily said inquiring her.

"She said she needed to sort some things with her new lawyer, and she wanted to see you and mend what you had, you know that everyone needs second chances, you just have to give it to her. I just thought that you loved her once, maybe you can do it again if what happens with Paige doesn't work out you know" Hanna finally opted to tell her truth.

Emily was mad and she was going to give her a piece of her mind when they heard someone at the door.

"Hey guys, is everything all right?" It was Aria.

Emily kept staring at Hanna with disapproving eyes, while the later was giving Aria pleading eyes.

"If I didn't knew that you love me this much Han I would've been so pissed at you, I understand why you think I could give Alison a second chance, but it wasn't her who ended up things, it was me…I realized that I wanted Paige, so I ended it, but she got so mad and I didn't want to hurt her anymore so I let her say that she didn't want me anymore…This is like a double punch for her, because I'm doing just that, I love Paige, not her" Emily said to both of her friends, who didn't say nothing for a couple of minutes, they just stared at her speechless.

Aria was going to talk but they heard screams from downstairs.

Emily and Aria went hurriedly downstairs while Hanna took the time while she laughed, she thought that it was a bad move leaving those two alone.

When she got there a little bit out of breath she found Alison being held by Emily and Aria while Paige was holding Abbie, who practically was squirming in Paige's arms trying to get out of her hold.

"Let me go Paige, I want to give this bitch a piece of my mind, you can't let her talk to you like that, LET…ME…GO" Abbie was really agitated.

"What the hell is going on here" Nina said as she watched everything by the doorway.

'Yeah this is going to be a long night' someone murmured.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I don't own most of the characters.**

* * *

"What's going on here" Nina watched the scene unfold, with Emily and Aria freeing Alison while Paige kept Abbie in her arms, whispering something that no one couldn't hear.

"Nothing, it was just a misunderstanding" Paige said to all of them but watching both of the girls involved, signaling to shut up and follow her lead.

She didn't want to ruin more of their night, she eventually freed Abbie who seemed more calmed now.

She went to Nina who hugged her and gave her a chaste kiss, but Paige had another thing on her mind, and gave her a long lingering kiss, which not only surprised Alison but everyone on the room including Abbie, she has spent many times with the two of them but she never saw Paige initiate something that looked so personal and they were never the girls that showed a display of affection with someone else in the room.

"Hey, sorry I'm late, I was just in finishing some touches on the new case" Nina said.

Hanna wanted to move on, so she said that dinner was ready.

All of them went to the table, except for Paige and Emily, Paige was hanging Nina's coat taking the time she needed to cool down.

"Paige what happened" Emily's tone was soft but also demanding.

"Nothing Emily just drop it" Paige didn't want to succumb to drama once again, she just shrugged her shoulders and went to the table only to be stopped by Emily's soft hand on her arm.

"Please, tell me, I'm not going to let her get away with it".

"Just control your girlfriend, I don't care what she thinks about me, but apparently Abbie does, so just forget it" She gave her a reassuring smile when Emily gave her a questioning look.

"I'm not with Alison, Paige I broke up with her four years ago, and I'm not here because of her, I'm here because I..."

"Hey guys, everyone is waiting, come on" A very persistent Hanna hurried them.

Paige sat between Abbie and Nina, and across from them were Aria, Emily and Alison respectively, and of course Hanna was at the head of the table, without any other incident they spent half of the night just enjoying the great food, and the little chat that surprisingly was more than they expected.

Everyone had mixed emotions about the whole thing, Hanna for one was pleased with the food and the effort she put for the casual conversation that dissipated all awkwardness and tension to a minimum.

Aria and Nina were talking mostly about art and little things about the wedding, and Abbie was planning different scenarios on how to kill Alison and tell that it was an accident.

Paige was mostly thinking about Emily and her words, she couldn't stop thinking 'the reasons why would Emily break up with Alison and more importantly when did she ended things?' She was trying to put it behind as Nina talked about her favorite photo of them.

"So how did you too meet" That was Alison trying to know the story, after hearing that Hanna and Emily were doing their wedding she couldn't be more pleased and happy for her own plans.

She saw Emily move uncomfortably in her seat as Nina recalled all of it.

Then the questions began to flow, either from Hanna or Alison and everyone seemed to want to hear it, except for Emily.

"Who asked who for a date"

"Nina actually, I was a klutz when we first met, she liked that and she asked me later on for a date" Paige smiled at her fiancée, it was sickening in some way.

"She said yes obviously then she asked me for a second date and so on"

"Are you living together?" Alison asked.

"Yes, Paige actually transferred from Stanford, she had an apartment with Abbie, but after I told her to move in with me she came to my apartment" Nina recalled, and it seemed that Abbie did remember that too, with a scowl on her face she turned down the conversation and put her focus on her plate.

"Who would you say is submissive?" Hanna asked but her question was shushed by everyone who screamed "HANNA"

Paige was blushing while Nina had a naughty smile.

"So who proposed?"

"Both" Paige and Nina responded at the same time matching the same grins.

"Do you guys already know the date?"

"Actually I wanted to tell you guys, we are moving the date a little earlier, we want it for July. We don't know the exact date but we want it to be as soon as possible"

"But that's 2 months away" Hanna exclaimed, and Emily's breath hitched.

"Yeah, we know it's just that we want to have it on this place that's always booked or like Paige prefers it near the beach, and we want good weather, and July is one of the warmest, sunniest months of the year and we also want that for our honeymoon so…"

"Oh, that's cute, do you guys know where you wanna go?" Alison asked, she pried for details that she knew that Emily didn't want to hear, but she was testing her luck. It wasn't all that difficult because Nina was willingly giving her details.

Hanna was torn, because she wanted to have the details to do a better job, but she knew that Emily was hurting inside, at the end she preferred Emily's wellbeing.

"They wouldn't know right now so how about we change…"

"Actually we do" Nina said, she was watching closely at Emily who by now was shirking more and more in her seat.

"We picked it up yesterday after staying in bed all day, after our rendezvous night we had, we decided to go either to Monaco or Fiji, Paige didn't tell me where she wants to go, she mentioned something before she went to sleep but I never caught that, care to share babe" She glanced at Paige who shared a look with Emily, like she knew where did she wanted to go.

"Maybe she told you Emily" Nina smugly asked, her answer whatever it was, was cut by Paige clearing her throat and her non so subtle glance at Nina "I told you that it doesn't matter where we go, it only matters the company we have"

"I went to Hawaii, to Honolulu with Caleb, it was wonderful, but Paige is right, the right company is what matters" she casually said hinting the word right to Paige, she saw a flicker of knowledge on Paige's face.

"Em and I wanted to go to Paris, remember" Alison mentioned, now all eyes were on her, everyone had a disbelieving look on their faces except Nina who seemed intrigued, she remembered Paige telling her about them being together in the past.

"And this was before she broke up with you, or when you were playing her?" Hanna challenged her, she wanted to stablish that they weren't together and that she knew why.

Alison's demeanor changed instantly, from happy to angry, the whole table went silent for a minute.

"So you are not together anymore" Nina asked.

Even though Paige already knew the answer she wanted to hear it again, and she was glad that her fiancée asked.

"No we're not" Emily said with conviction, she looked at Paige while she gave her answer.

"Well how about we skip this to the living room" Aria suggested, and everyone seemed to agree.

For Emily everything that's been said was the hardest thing to hear, she couldn't stop thinking that it could have been her.

She watched how Paige smiled at little things that Nina told them, and she saw how happy she was with her. And in that moment it hit her hard, maybe she was late, she had to get out of there. she didn't follow them and instead she went to take calm her nerves on the balcony. She didn't notice how much time she took until she felt a hand on her back.

"Do you want wine" Paige's silvery voice resonated.

"Thanks" she tried to take the glass without looking at her, but she felt Paige's hand lift her face.

"What's wrong Em" she noticed how worried Paige sounded, she took her wine in one sip and watched intendedly ahead avoiding Paige's eyes.

"You're going to get married" she brittle out.

She heard Paige letting a long sight. "I guess I am".

"For the record I do remember where you wanted to go on your honeymoon" Emily vaguely said, she watched a smile form on Paige's face.

"Well the Maldives are my favorite and sacred place"

"Yeah I remember you already booked an impressive villa for us" Emily answered easily, realizing a breathy chuckle.

"Oh yeah, that's one of the reasons why I don't want to go there, that's our place…Nina once told me she didn't want to go there" Paige divulged.

"It seems that you are doing what Nina wants and not what you want" Emily remarked, raising her eyebrow.

"You have to make small sacrifices along the way, she knows more of this than I do"

"Yeah but if I remember correctly, you are an amazing planner and it's your big day, you should have a say in everything Paige" Emily replied, she wanted Paige to know that she needed to speak for herself, she noticed that Nina was making all the calls, and she couldn't stand that.

After a long silence she added "I'm happy for you" she said sincerely.

"I'm not" Paige said, Emily was surprised to hear it so she turned her head to watch her, but Paige was doing what she did before, she was staring straight ahead to nowhere and she continued "I can't be happy when I know that you're not happy Emily"

She couldn't even think what that meant.

She took Paige's face gently and turned her towards her "But I am happy Paige I'm so happy for you and for the things that you've accomplished and mostly because you have the best of the best" she said it with few tears on her eyes, she didn't want to look weak or look like she was lying, so she wiped her tears with the back of her hand, she saw Paige doing the same.

"Well that's what I had and what I could have if" Paige debated if it was a good idea to tell what she has been thinking of the last few days but at the end decided against it "Come on they're waiting for us".

Aria came to look for them, and she watched Paige go inside while she stayed "Hey Em, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, yeah I just needed fresh air, now let's go back inside" she took Aria by her arm, she wanted some sort of support, she didn't want anyone to watch her crumble once more, but she wasn't sure if it was in a good way or a bad way.

Weirdly Nina was in a good mood, and she was behaving nicely, and so did Alison.

Paige sat between Nina and Abbie again, she refilled her glass on her way to the couch, she pretended that she was into the conversation when Emily came to the room, but she didn't fooled Emily when she smiled at her.

What Emily took from Paige's words was, hope.

"I think it's late, we should better get going Paige" Nina expressed.

Nina watched the two ex-lovers talking for a while, and she wanted to go when Aria volunteered to bring them back, she didn't want to cause a scene and she really wanted to have a good impression on Paige's friends but after watching the longing looks she decided to leave.

"Oh come on, the night is young and so are we, why don't you stay or you let Paige stay Nina" Abbie implored.

Nina watched Paige as she waited for her answer, she didn't want to go without Paige, and she knew that.

"Hmm I agree with Nina it's getting kind of late, so we should go" she knew it was better for them to go now than doing something she knew she would regret later, she felt dizzy for the alcohol but she felt more dizzy for the mix of feelings she felt tonight.

"Aria are you coming with us?" Nina politely asked, she waited for her to end the talk that she had going on with Hanna and Abbie.

"I think I'm going to stay a little longer here if you guys don't mind" Aria told them. Paige was getting their coats when Abbie appeared at her side "Aria will stay at my place again, so don't wait up, and Paige call me tomorrow, we need to talk" she said it with determination and finality and Paige just nodded and went to wrap Nina's coat on her, Nina thanked her with a small kiss.

"Hanna, thank you for this night, and I'm so sorry for the little fight we had before, you know that I've missed you" Paige hugged her rather awkwardly because of the baby bump and because Nina was watching their interaction intendedly.

"Don't worry Paige, I'm glad you had a good time, I've missed you too, It's a bummer that you didn't get to see Caleb, so I guess it will be another time right?" Hanna had her hopes up that maybe their meetings will be more regular.

"Thank you for having us Hanna, we had a lovely time, I guess I'll see you on Tuesday at the office" Nina hugged Hanna too, and said farewell to the rest of the girls by a wave.

Paige only smiled at everyone and gave a small smile to Emily who gave her a full grin and a nod.

Paige and Nina went on their separate ways, because they both came in their respective cars.

Paige leaned on the window of Nina's car, she was putting her seatbelt when Paige attacked her with kisses, she left her giggling when they saw Caleb getting out of a taxi with difficulty, Paige thought that maybe he was a little drunk.

"Go on, help him, I guess I'll see you in the house a little bit later but don't stay too long, I love you" She saw Nina leave and immediately went to help him.

"I'm not that drunk, but I think I'm seeing the Paige McCullers on my driveway kissing a hot girl and being whipped as hell" Caleb laughed at his own joke.

Paige went to give him support when he engulfed her in a warm hug.

"I hate you, why didn't you call me back" Paige just laughed at him because he was being winy and sentimental.

"You sounded like a girl, it was a good thing you missed girls night, because I would've thought you were one of us" he looked slightly relieved to hear that at least he came in a good time.

"Are they still there?" He asked.

"Yeah they're all in there, I was just leaving actually" Paige saw Caleb give her a warning look, which meant that she couldn't leave until he said it. He grabbed her arm gently signaling to enter the house with him.

The first to see them was Alison who just looked like she was leaving "Look what the cat dragged in" she sarcastically said, just smirking at Paige and ignoring Caleb, she grabbed her keys and went out the door.

Hanna was the second to greet them, when she was close she smelled Caleb and made a disgusted face and smacked Caleb in the arm "Guess who's sleeping on the couch tonight…hey you did catch him, are you staying?" Hanna seemed more upbeat than seconds ago with the prospect of Paige staying over.

"Hey I'm just going to grab two beers from the fridge, go outside and wait for me" Caleb raised his voice as he went to the kitchen.

Paige just stood there searching for the other girls and for the door to the back, when she thought she found it, the door flew open with enthralled Emily behind.

"Hey Paige, what…what are you?"

"Caleb's here" Hanna told Emily from across the room like it was all that she needed to know, because neither of them could form another word.

The world for them always seemed to stop when they watched each other, they just opted for a shy smile, when Caleb appeared with Aria and Abbie.

"What did you forget your pants" Abbie bitingly said, she stuck her tongue out to Paige who just laughed at her childish display.

"Ha-ha very funny, no Caleb asked me to stay for a while" Paige took the beer that Caleb handed it to her.

"And the monster let you?" Abbie bluntly asked.

Paige knew she mean well but still it hurt her that her best friend didn't approve her relationship, and Caleb sensing that, grabbed Paige's arm and lead her to the back where they were seated on the coconut grove.

"You're going to be a father, congratulations Caleb, I know that you will be a great father" Paige said as she took a sip of her beer. She wasn't the type of girl who drank beer but she was still a little woozy and she wanted her nerves to go away.

"How can you know that, I'm terrified, what if I turn out to be like my dad when I was little, I just don't want to disappoint Hanna or the baby" Caleb let out with a huge sigh, Paige noticed that he needed this, that he needed her. From the last 4 years they exchanged few emails, but eventually they stopped.

"That's the reason why you're not going to be like your father, you know how important it is for you to be in this kid life and you won't disappoint anyone because you're strong, you both are, and I think that you couldn't be more ready for this. And you know that with Hanna by your side, you will both be fine, although if the kid is like Hanna then you're screwed" Paige half joked.

"How are things with Nina?" He spoke again.

"They're fine, she makes me really happy, I guess that's why I'm marring her" Paige stated.

"You're marring her because she makes you happy, like in bed? Paige if you…" Caleb laughed.

"Asshole" Paige managed a little smile when she looked up.

"So you really love her" Caleb asked when he stopped laughing.

"Yes I do love her" Paige declared.

"I was surprised when Hanna told me that her biggest wedding was yours"

"Why is that?" Paige asked somewhat surprised.

"Not because you were getting married but because you choose Hanna whose best friend and half owner of the company is your ex, and it's not only your ex, she's Emily" Caleb divulged, he wanted to know that maybe one of the reason was because she didn't want it to go through it and she wanted Emily back somehow.

"Trust me Caleb if I would've known then we wouldn't have this conversation, but my mom recommended the company and honestly they're the best, Hanna has done an awesome job so far, and I wouldn't expect nothing less from her, she's amazing and for Emily well I spent all these years thinking that she was still with Alison and that she was happy, she told me she is not with Alison and that she's happy so I don't see a problem from continuing with this wedding with them" Paige thought that Caleb was judging her in some way.

"No need to get all defensive about it Paige, I know Hanna and Emily are doing the best they can, but….we all have missed you, so are we back in your life?" Caleb managed to ask, even if he wanted so badly to tell her that she was making a mistake.

"You were never out Caleb, but you know things went pretty bad last time we saw each other, but that's all in the past, and I really want you to be in my life as much as I want to be in yours with Hanna and the future mini Caleb" Paige replied.

"And what about Emily?"

"What about her?" she sighed, Caleb just gave her a serious look that eventually made her speak.

"When I saw her again in some way I felt good, I felt like I was the girl who fell head over heels for her but the memories came and the pain and all of the things that happened between us and I felt happy that I wasn't that girl anymore. It somehow made me notice that I have everything that she wished for me, but somehow it's wrong because I don't have those things with her"

"If you knew that she wants you back, would you leave Nina for what it seems you truly want?" Caleb was entering dangerous territory but he knew he needed to ask and he needed a serious response.

"I really don't know Caleb but if we are being honest then I guess I can't lie and say that it wouldn't change a thing because it could change everything"


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I don't own most of the characters.**

**A/N: I apologize for the typos, thank you for all the reviews, follows and the favorites. They made my day. Seriously! So for the people who want a little more of Paily (I guess this is something). **

* * *

"Typical for them to be late and you told me they were professionals" A very displeased Nina murmured, since Friday she was on a bad mood first because of the dinner and then because Paige decided to stay without her, even though she told her to stay for a little while.

And now even more due to Paige's change of demeanor every time she was with her, like she distanced herself from her. She knew she shouldn't have left without her but now she was trying not to ruin their plans.

They didn´t have to wait any more when Emily came running through the doors. "I´m sorry for making you wait Nina…Hi Paige" she made eye contact only with Paige while she smiled at her, every time she saw Paige she couldn't look away and she didn't mind the literally death stare that Nina was giving her.

"Do we have to wait for Hanna, I have to go to work and I wanted to see the photos of the venues that you picked upon our preferences" Nina grew more impatient by the minute when she saw longing on Paige's eyes.

"Actually, she's not coming, she had an appointment at her doctor's office" Emily told them while she was searching for the list of venues.

"Is the baby ok? Is Hanna ok?" Paige immediate response was laced with worry, Emily looked up to see in fact Paige's worried face. She smiled at the gesture.

"Oh yeah….sorry for worrying you it's just the monthly checkup" Emily's voice was gentle, she felt warmed by Paige's concerned about the future baby and for her friend. When Paige let out the sight she was holding she proceeded to search again on the list of the possible places they wanted to be weed.

"Hanna picked already the places for you to look out, and I already made the reservations for this week sightings, we could go to one of them today and the other tomorrow or when you can, you have to choose which one you liked the most for Friday" Emily explained.

Nina took the list and began pondering which place was the best, while Paige began typing on her phone, she wanted to know about Hanna's appointment so she send Caleb a text which was shortly replied by 'everything's ok'.

Nina noticed Paige wasn't paying much attention to her or the places she was looking for instead she was chatting with Emily, after she received a text. She tried to clear her throat but with no avail she grabbed Paige's hand and began tracing small circles, when that didn't worked she leaned into Paige and left a trail of small kisses on her neck.

Paige's eyes widened at Nina's actions, and moved slightly uncomfortable in her seat while watching Emily's face contorting a little. When she turned to look at Nina she just had a little smirk on her face.

"Now that I got your attention, can we pick a place to go today, I want to at least go to the place with you, in that way you will know what I'm looking for the weeding" Nina explained, she realized what she needed to do to get Paige's attention now and she couldn't complain.

Paige on the other hand felt surprised at Nina's actions, they weren't a couple who showed a display of affection but lately she felt that Nina wanted to stablish they were together. She felt she wasn't being fair, she wasn't even paying attention to her fiancée and she felt bad for it, so she decided to go along and put her head on the plans and not in the thoughts of her ex-girlfriend.

"You choose, you know that I will do anything you want me to" she said it with a smile.

"Are you sure you will do everything, maybe we should prove that tonight" Nina winked at her, while Paige blushed furiously and dipped her head for embarrassment, she didn't intended to sound like that but seeing as Nina felt more upbeat she let it slide.

"Well I love all of these places, but I wanted to check the Vibiana venue first, that's where my parents renewed their vows, remember babe" Nina handed the folder where the information for the place was presented with photos.

"Yeah, that's a nice place, but isn't it too much?" Paige queried.

"Actually it's what Nina asked for. The capacity is for more than 400 guests and you could do the ceremony outside, if you want to go, we could go right now" Emily suggested, she noticed Paige just shrugged her disagreement of the place but she passed on like maybe she really didn't care about the place, she knew Paige, but maybe she didn't knew this Paige, because she didn't said nothing about it, and just kept agreeing with Nina.

"I have a little bit of time left, so yes I think it's a great idea, I want to check the place again, don't you agree babe" for Nina that was the only place she wanted, but for both her and Paige sake she told Hanna to look for a place more accordingly to what Paige wanted too. But she knew if she played her cards right she would get the last word.

"Yeah sure lets go" Paige agreed, she also suggested that they take one car, in that way she could drop Nina after the visit in her office and then go with Emily to Hanna's house, because she was going out with Caleb. Nina didn't have any other option than to agree with her and went out to the car followed by Emily and Paige.

Paige opened the door for both Nina and Emily, and quickly went to the driver's seat, where she pulled the car out of parking and onto the road to the place. The car ride wasn't long but the silence seemed for all of them long enough to keep them uncomfortable.

Until Paige decided to speak "So how is it going living with Hanna and Caleb" she was just simply making conversation, but for Nina it was difficult to see and hear how easy their friendship could be, and if they could have an easy friendship they could have more eventually.

"It's fine but I'm thinking that maybe I could get a place here, nothing much, I want an apartment, actually I already have options, I mean I love Hanna and Caleb but Hanna has been treating me like a child, sometimes she gets on my nerves but other times I understand that she's 'practicing', like she always says" Emily explained.

"So that means you want to stay here in California" Nina asked, her tone was deflated.

"Probably yes, I invested in this company and I want to be here for Hanna and for other people, and to have what I really wanted" Emily vaguely said.

"Which is what?" Paige wanted to know although she was afraid of the answer too.

"I want the best of everything" Emily firmly stated.

She caught sight of Paige threw the rearview and she saw that Paige was surprised but still had a shy smile because she had the vague idea of what she meant. Well she knew what Emily implied but she couldn't deny that maybe she was second guessing her reply. And she also saw Nina giving Paige a questioning look, like she somehow knew what that meant.

"That's good Emily I hope you'll have what we have" Nina acknowledge, she grabbed Paige's hand from the console, and interlocked with hers, she smiled at Paige, who was giving her a small smile, then Paige pull their hands to her face and kiss her gently as she rounded the corner of the place.

The three of them went to reception where Emily told them they were ready to see the place, they were immediately escorted by Crystal the owner of the place, to the entrance of the main building where they admired the place. It was like Nina expected, they were in the foyer, it wasn't long but it was long enough, at the left they had the exit door whereas on the right there was three pocket door openings that lead to the main hall.

Paige took Nina's hand and slowed her down, she was excited to see the place, that brought her a big smile on her face and she knew that this was the place when they entered the hall. The place was Archdiocese Catholic cathedral but it was renewed, and it held a beautiful sight in front of them. Paige couldn't deny that she liked this place, but it wasn't her, this place was for big events, big weeding's, not that hers wasn't a big event but like Emily mentioned once she liked the idea of having something intimate, and the place didn't look intimate.

"So you can have both the reception and the ceremony here in the hall, but most couples prefer to have the ceremony outside in the garden and to have the reception here in the main hall, but you already booked the two places with a capacity of 250 guests for the reception and 100 for the ceremony" Crystal explained while she took them outside.

Paige realized that no matter what she wanted Nina had already decided that this was the place, without even asking her, she got pissed but mainly sad for obvious reasons but she kept saying that it didn't matter that this would make Nina happy. She took a look at the spacious garden, and she liked it.

"Behind this we have the lounge and the bridal preparation room" Crystal continued with the explanation.

The bridal room was more likely a little house, it had everything, and Crystal explained that they could divide the room for both of the brides in this case. Nina was sure that she wanted this place by the minute, everything was perfect for her, but she saw a crease on her fiancée. She decided to take her on a private room to talk to her.

"What's wrong Paige? Don't you like this place?" Nina voiced her worries after seeing a very discouraged Paige.

"I think it's perfect for what you want, but it would have been nice to have a say in the decision Nina, this looks like a big too much, and you know that the only thing that I want is marry you, and well I understand that this is your big day but is also mine and I would like to at least have a say in it" Paige voice was more firm than ever, she couldn't let it pass. And Nina looking at a very determined Paige knew she was right, but she didn't want to let Emily or even Crystal know that they were having trouble.

"You're right, it's just that I got excited about this place, you know it's important for me to have it here, I'm sorry I didn't told you from the beginning that I wanted this place…but I was thinking there's another place more accordingly to your expectations, if you want we could go another day and take a look at that place and if you want it to do it there I guess I could be persuaded to change my mind" Nina worked her over by placing a few kisses along Paige's cheek and collarbone, Paige let her because she didn't want to have a fight where they were and more because she didn't want to cause a scene in front of the girls outside.

"Nin let's go back" Paige let out but it seemed that Nina had other plans.

"Remember after the ceremony we came here and we spent some quality time together" Nina remembered while she still laid a few kisses on Paige lips.

"Oh yeah, we've made some memories here" Paige let out a little laugh when she remembered too.

"You see, this place has some good memories of us. We could just add wedding to…"

"Don't push it Nin" Paige intervened. Nina just gave her an apologetic look and took her arm and led them outside where Emily was chatting with Crystal.

Paige noticed the flirtatious look on Crystal and for some kind or reason she felt jealous and riled up, she composed herself before Emily took a look at them. Nina sensed Paige state and didn't want to push it further so she just smiled at the pair.

"So what do you girls think, would you want to finish the…" Crystal sported a big grin while only looking at Emily, who gave a grim smile.

"Can we tell you on Friday? We're not sure yet…but this place looks promising" Nina answered flatly, she gave her a look that made her stop, they exchanged knowing looks that only Emily caught up on.

Crystal only gave her a nod, and went to her office, leaving the three girls on their own then they went to Paige's car in complete silence.

After a few minutes they arrived to Nina's office, she didn't want to leave them alone but she needed to work. She gave Emily a nod and intended to give Paige a kiss but she turned her face before she leaned so her kiss ended up at her cheek, Emily didn't falter to notice this subtle change and the non-so subtle glances that Paige was giving her after she saw her with Crystal.

"Do you plan to stay at the back the entire ride home thinking about Crystal and her impeccable smile" Paige asked in a serious tone after waiting at Emily to change seats.

"No sorry, and it's not my fault that she's a perfectionist in every way possible" Emily responded while getting out of the car, when she tried to open the passenger side door she couldn't because Paige locked her out. She also saw the little smirk she was giving her while nodding her head signaling that she couldn't get in.

"Come on Paige, open the door" Emily pleaded she thought to herself that maybe Paige was jealous, but when Paige saw that Emily was going to get in when she unlocked the door she drove a little bit farther away from her, making her walk, she did this a couple of times for her own amusement.

Emily loved Paige's playful side so she went along with it and acted like she was annoyed, she kept walking when Paige decided to follow her besides her until they were on the street. Paige was in a considerable better mood and Emily was delighted for that, but after a while she tried to warn Paige when she saw a police officer going to Paige's window, he tapped on the window signaling for her to put it down when she did he asked straightaway for her license and registration.

"Mam is she bothering you" the officer asked Emily, she tried not to laugh when she saw Paige's worried expression, silently pleading her for get her out of the situation that she was responsible for.

"Everything is alright officer, my frie-girlfriend here was only giving me a lesson, its ok" Emily explained as she climbed on to the car, she took Paige's hand in hers and give her a small kiss on the cheek they both felt a longing and some kind of electric feel on the kiss "Do you forgive me babe" Emily said for emphasis, and Paige only nod, not knowing how to form proper words after what she started to feel.

The officer only let a small laugh and continued "Ok, then you two have a good evening… here are your documents, drive safely" when he left Paige let out a sigh of relieve. Emily saw Paige giving her a disbelieving but grateful look, until Emily laughed at the situation and soon Paige joined her.

"You should've seen your face, that's karma for you" Emily giggled. Paige felt her heart pounding when she heard Emily's laugh, it was almost magical she thought. She kept staring at Emily, who was enjoying herself for maybe the first time in a long time, and she knew that she was enjoying herself too.

When Emily turned to see Paige her stomach flipped, she noticed the desire and mostly sadness and regret in a way in the brunette eyes just by watching her. "What's wrong?"

Paige couldn't quite form a word but when she does, it was almost like a murmur "Nothing it's just I've missed…you know it's been a long time since I heard your laugh, and it's wonderful, you're wonderful".

"Paige, I've missed you" Emily's shaky voice was heard but nothing else. Paige hanged her head low knowing she wasn't supposed to say that, because know she knew what Emily was feeling and what she was feeling in a degree too.

"Um thank you for saving me, I guess now I owe you one, are you ready to go" Paige started the car when she didn't had an answer back, she just kept staring at the road even though she wanted to see the girl besides her, who she knew was staring intently at her. She could feel it.

"You were jealous" Emily commented.

"Wha…no I'm not"

"Yes you were, I felted the minute you saw me laughing at Crystal joke about her husband, you were just admit it" Emily poked her side while giving her a playful grin.

Paige turned for a second to see her and in that moment she knew she couldn't lie "Yeah I was" not wanting the follow response she turned the radio and give her a wink.

When they arrived to Caleb's house, Paige reluctantly turned her head and saw an upbeat Emily, she just gave her a knowledge nod and went out the door, merely five minutes later Caleb was the one seated beside her.

She couldn't help but to put her head in the starring wheel when she notice Caleb's raising eyebrows, like he somehow knew something that she didn't, but it had to do with her ex. When she recovered she only gave him a warning look as to stop him from teasing her, but she should've known better than to expect that he didn't had an opinion, she thought how much he has changed and how much he resembled to Hanna.

"Wow, and I thought that you stating that Em was amazing in every way possible and that you were jealous would've put you in a better mood, but I guess it didn't" Caleb mused.

"She…what I didn't say that, well I just said…"

"Relax, I'm just messing with you, she told me she just saved your ass from being detained for 'harassing' her on the street" Caleb laughed.

"I…well yeah you can say that she saved me from her own fault, if she hadn't flirted with that girl I wouldn't have done that" Paige let it slip, she beat herself up for what she just said, but she saw Caleb only giving her a questioning look. "I said that I missed her laugh Caleb".

"You're jealous, I didn't type you as the jealous kind and more importantly you're jealous of your ex-girlfriend while having a fiancée…well what did she say?" Caleb asked after delivering some truth behind her state.

"She said that she missed her too obviously" Hanna responded when she entered the car. "Oh yeah she's coming with us, she kept complaining all day because she wants to spend more time with you" Caleb explained. "We have to wait for Em"

"So missing your ex huh" Caleb and Hanna grinned, while Paige kept her head still on the starring wheel, she let out a groan letting them know that she didn't want to keep talking about it.

After a couple of more minutes Emily entered and Paige immediately started the car.

They arrived to baby's world store were they spent almost all afternoon looking for many things, at first Caleb and Paige left the girls to search for the crib while they searched for clothes and baby things. But after a while Hanna went to Caleb for his opinion for something leaving the two other girls on their own. Paige had the shopping cart almost full and Emily kept picking up stuffs for the baby.

"I don't know why would a baby need all of these things, I mean what's the difference" Paige exhaled. "These are basic stuffs, stop whining you sound like a baby, and if I remember correctly you wanted a bunch of them" Emily commented while picking another pacifier and showing it to Paige "Look how cute this is, I want one"

"Yeah it's cute…so do you want a kid or a pacifier?" Paige laughed at a pouty Emily "I want a baby, would you give it to me, you once promised to have 8 kids with me, I'm collecting now your promise" Emily smiled coyly, she watched as Paige rolled her eyes at her.

"I'm surprised that you still want my kids" Paige told her in a friendly manner, but Emily thought of the opportunity to tell her how she felt, well part of what she was feeling towards her.

"Paige why wouldn't I want your kids, you would be an excellent mom one day, and I couldn't do it with anyone else" Emily expressed, she saw how Paige's expression changed in a second, she took it as a reminder on how it would've been if she hadn't screwed up. But she also thought of another thing in her mind that it surely included Nina's perspective. "Does Nina want kids?"

"She says that it will be complicated and that we're both young and she wants to succeed in her job first and maybe we can adopt a child later on" Paige told her sadly, she kept looking towards the floor, afraid of looking into Emily's eyes and knowing what she wanted to say, but when she felt her hand covering hers she gave her a relieved sigh. After a minute she was the one holding Emily, as they went to search more things for the future baby. Emily felt giddy when Paige kept her hand intertwined with hers. She was enjoying the feeling, when she noticed how Paige second guessed her actions.

"I want to give them a stroller, come with me" Paige said and Emily could only nod. They spent a few minutes looking, when they decided to get help, an employee came soon after and showed them different types of strollers, when they came across one big compagno stroller Paige asked for more details.

"This is a nero tandem stroller and is suitable for infants from six months and also could accommodate another baby it has a harness in the front and back seat that allows both children to remain safe. If you and your wife are looking to have another child this could be perfect" The woman implied, after seeing them around the store holding hands. Emily just smiled politely at the woman but Paige was blushing furiously, she was going to contradict the woman statement when her phone rang, and her face almost fell immediately when she saw her fiancée father calling.

"Good afternoon Paul, how are you, is everything all right" Paige asked in a monotonous tone.

"I'm actually helping a couple of friends with something…"

"Yes they are, but…yeah she's here with me…"

"I didn't choose them over Nina, she had to work and you said that I wasn't needed in the office…"

"Well, yes I want to give Nina what she wants, but it's my day too, and it would've been nice to agree with something that I know Paul…"

"So it's already decided then…"

Emily only heard Paige's side but she noticed the conversation wasn't going well when she saw Paige frown, she again tried to cover her hand to calm her and she felt Paige relax for the simple touch and gave her a thankful smile. The woman who was helping them after seeing them again being so comfortable with each other just clasped her hands over her heart and let out a content sight.

"You guys are so perfect" she said. And Emily could only nod in agreement. "Yes we are, aren't we".

Paige didn't know that at this point she could be giddier by the conversation that she was having with Paul or the fact that Emily thought they were perfect together.

"So would you like to take this one, or would you like to see another one" she asked, not wanting to interrupt the moment that the two girls were having.

"Actually can we look for another one, the stroller is for our best friends and for now they having one kid, that I know of" Paige interrupted her conversation with Paul for her sake and continued after telling the employer what she wanted wasn't for them.

"Oh…yeah sure, this is probably the best option then it's a Joovy Qool Single Stroller" The girl showed the Graphite Grey Frame in Purple stroller, but she somehow felt sad about the thing not being theirs.

"I think it's perfect, right babe" Emily winked at Paige, she wanted to provide the woman a little bit of satisfaction even though it was a little white lie, she liked the way that Paige blushed and well she was doing it a lot, she only saw Paige's nod of approval.

"I think this is it" Emily stated. "Would you like to buy two? You know for the future?" The woman said hopefully. "I think we would have a 2 seat stroller, we will have a big family, but we definitely will come here" Emily spoke confidently.

When they were at the cashier Paige was still in her phone, but by now she looked more relaxed and from what she could hear she was talking about business. When Emily tried to pay for many of the things Paige stopped her, Emily heard her end abruptly the conversation and retrieving her credit card, she handed over to the cashier and only gave her a pointed look, like it couldn't be upon discussion, she wanted to pay and that was it.

They both went to the car to put the shopping bags as they waited inside of the car for their friends.

"Do you think they will like the stroller?" Paige was second guessing her gift, she didn't want to but it was important for her. She wanted to say in a way that she was sorry for leaving them and that she wanted to be a part of their family in a way.

"Yes, Paige why wouldn't they like it, and they will like it more if they knew that I picked it, what are you doubting of my shopping expertise?" Emily raised her eyebrows expecting her response, she was met by a giggle from her ex and a shaking head.

"Well it's important for me, but now that you said it, maybe I should change it, you are a good liar, so maybe you didn't like it but you lied and you wanted me to buy it for them to hate it and then they will eventually pick you to be the godmother of the baby and if you haven't noticed I wanted that title" Paige and Emily laughed at her rambling, she wasn't serious, but now she felt like she was living for this type of banter that they were having.

"Well you caught me, I want to be the cool aunt…and I'm definitely not a good liar" Emily chuckled.

"I knew it! Yes you are, you lied to that poor girl, saying that we will come back because we're going to have a big family, and she blindly believed you" Paige commented.

"But Paige, I wasn't lying, you'll see… I want you back so when I do we will have a bunch of kids and you will end up buying three or four strollers, and it's just a matter of perspective, we will be together at the end" Emily confidently stated.

Paige heart was pounding so hard that she felt that Emily could hear it, after what was a flirtatious banter it turned out to be what she wanted to hear in a way, and she decided to leave it as maybe a joke she knew that behind Emily's words there it was, the truth behind them, but for now she did the only thing that she knew how to do when she heard the love in Emily's voice, she dipped her head, and smiled softly.

Their moment was interrupted for the eleventh time because their friends arrived to Paige's car, Caleb tapping on Paige's window signaling to open the car and the trunk of her Porsche Macan, when she did Hanna instantly entered the car and let out a huge sight, she was so tired that she didn't noticed the subtle glances that the couple of the front were giving to each other.

Paige saw Caleb confused face thru the rearview mirror, he only raised his brow after noticing the package that he certainly didn't buy, but when he saw Paige he knew it was for them. He only smiled and proceeded to close the door. He sat by Hanna's side and caressed her belly very softly. She let out a relieved and content sight when Paige started the car as she drove them back home.

"Hey Paige" Hanna began watching the expression of her friend change considerably when she arrived but she also had a conflicted look and she looked like something was troubling her "thank you so much for coming with us. I hope Emily didn't give you a hard time".

She only nodded her head in negation with a little smile on her face.

"And why didn't you asked me that, you know how Paige can be sometimes" Emily whined, but watching all of her friends laugh at her antics.

Soon after they arrived home, Paige helped Caleb with the shop bags while Emily helped a very tiresome Hanna entered the house but not without Emily giving Paige a kiss on the cheek and a knowing smile. After that they seemed to have a little bit of time to talk about their day,

"What happened today" Caleb asked. "The truth or a white lie?" Paige reached for the box of the stroller only to be stopped by the strong and firm hand of Caleb on her arm.

"Do you know why Emily's here Caleb" Paige looked in his eyes to have some confirmation of what she was thinking. "I do know and you, but considering your actions and your face then it seems that you do" Caleb's response was the thing she wanted to hear, and she only gave him a small nod.

"So what's going to happen now?"

"I don't know Caleb, why are you asking me that" Paige sounded defensive but she knew she had a valid reason, she didn't know yet what were the implications of knowing what Emily wanted was her.

"You said the other day, that if you knew that she wanted you back, that it would change everything, so?" Caleb pointed out.

"What do you expect me to do, what leave the girl that I'm going to marry for the girl who broke my heart over and over again just because she wants me back now, after all these years, I…I just don't know" Paige avoid eye contact with Caleb because she knew she will give herself away if she saw him.

"I expect you do the right thing for yourself whether being with Nina or with Em, but obviously I want you to choose Em because she really loves you and she really want's you back, but that's up to you, but I want to know do you still love her" Caleb waited for a long time until she saw a few tears leave her now again best friend, he wrapped one arm around her while she rested her head in his shoulder, letting a huge sight after responding.

"I do"

* * *

_So I just wanted to let you guys know that I don't know when will I update the next chapter due to the holidays so I'm sorry in advance. But I will try. I just wanted to wish you happy holidays and a happy new year. Love you!_


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I don't own most of the characters.**

**Flashbacks are in Italics. **

* * *

"Ok so details, I want details Em" Hanna asked immediately when they sat on Emily's bed she wanted to know why Emily was so happy.

"I told her Han, I told her that I sort of wanted her and that I missed her" Emily began to retell everything that was said in the car, she watched Hanna smiling so broadly that it made her smile too, she was content but more because she saw in a flash that Paige did miss her too and that she wanted her back too.

"So what now, she still engaged and well it's a great thing that she knows that you are here for her, she still is with Nina" Hanna voiced her worries.

"I know Han, but for now on I will tell her every day that she is the one, I just I know that she still loves me, I want to hold a little hope that maybe one of this days she will see how Nina is and admit to herself that she wants me too. Our love had ups and downs and I intended to remind her all of the things that made her fall in love with me, and I want to see the girl who I fell for, I've seen her many times today, but I can see that she's holding back, and yes one of the reasons it's because she's with Nina but I think it's more the fear of having to endure what our love had and that's certainly is the fear of losing me again" Emily explained.

They heard a soft groan downstairs so they went to see Caleb moving all of the shopping bags onto the living room, they noticed that he was holding all of them with Paige nowhere in sight, he just shrugged his shoulders after putting down the giant box that now Hanna was eyeing intensely.

"She got a call from Nina and I told her to go, she didn't want to but I made her, she looked conflicted, and for what I'm guessing is because of you" Caleb told them while retrieving the gift that Paige gave them.

Hanna ripped the package open, she had a few tears streaming down her face while she opened the box to find a stroller in it.

"I guess you like it" Emily put her hand in Hanna's back, she was rubbing her back softly as she kept tearing the box apart.

"Paige bought that for us, she wanted to give you personally but you know Nina, I think that earns points for her to be the godmother don't you think?" Caleb smiled and helped Hanna to retrieve the whole stroller out of the box and setting it in the floor.

Emily just let out a loud laugh when she heard Caleb mention what Paige wanted.

"Hey I helped, don't I get to be the godmother?" Emily exclaimed although she was happy for Paige and for their pick.

"Maybe the next one Em, this one is definitely for Paige, she deserves it, and in this way we get to keep her if whatever you two have doesn't work out, you know I'm telling this in the most optimistic way possible" Hanna chuckled after what Caleb explained, he went to grab beverages for them, he handed Emily a bear and a juice to Hanna.

"Did you tell her about you throwing Alison out the day of the dinner, because you knew what she told her" Hanna asked while grabbing some of the clothes from the bags and started to organize some of the things.

"No the topic never came, but I don't think it matters now"

"Well it does" Hanna told her, after watching Emily and Caleb expecting her to continue with the sudden stop of movements of both of them she continued "You have to tell her that you don't want to have to do anything with her, and especially now that…well Nina's father called me, he wanted me to reserve the Vibiana place for the wedding, he say that her daughter wanted that place but Paige as stubborn as she is didn't, but it didn't matter because they wanted that place, and that he wanted to surprised her daughter after pulling a big case which turned out to be Alison's case for some things about her inherence problem with Jason and her father, that was the real reason for her to come here, and the thing about dinner it turned out to be something to entertain her for a while and well Nina has to travel to New York so she won't have time to reserve the place so he did it for 'them', so you have to tell her that no matter what you are not here for Alison and that you didn't knew about the case, and I have a strange feeling that Nina is not going to tell her about her new case" Hanna acknowledged, the three of them fell in a somber silence for a while.

"So Alison was just being Alison all this time, but isn't she going to lose all of her money, that could mean a great loss for Nina if she's competing with Spencer. Maybe we could tell Paige for her to warn Nina about the case" Caleb spoke first voicing his concerns for his friend.

"Maybe that's something that Nina should tell her, but I guess if she doesn't then one of us will, gosh Alison hasn't changed" Emily sighed loudly as she took another big sip of her beer.

Hanna sensed that there was another thing troubling the brunette so she touched her hair lightly making her turn to her, Emily saw Hanna's rising her eyebrow intending for her to tell her what was troubling her too.

"They're making all the calls, and they're leaving Paige out of it, and it's her wedding, you should have seen Paige's face today when Nina didn't tell her that the place was settled and again when Nina's father called her reassuring her that the idea of the place was the best and she couldn't object. I just hope it works out for her, because even if she doesn't want me and she wants her then I want her to be happy and I haven't seen that and I don't want to lie to her, so I don't know if we should still see the other place, the place you choose first for them. This is going to be a lot harder than I thought" Emily let out in a quiet voice and slouching further on the couch.

"I know Em, but right now what you can do is be there for her, and casually make her notice that you are way hotter and smarter than Nina, and that you would totally let her pick everything because you would only want her at the end" Hanna remarked, and that made the situation a little bit better.

They continued with the conversation easily as they watched Hanna indulge herself in all of the things that she bought.

* * *

Paige after a long hour drive finally arrived home, she found herself alone because Aria was now staying at Abbie's and for the last text she received from Nina she was stuck at work, so she took the time to relax and to think about how the last couple of weeks had changed everything.

She took a look at the fridge trying to see if she wanted to eat something and instead she opted just for a beer, she reclined in the couch after she started the fireplace, she remember the day she moved in with Nina and the first thing she did in the house was turn on the fireplace, she found it extremely calming, after a long day of moving boxes all around. The memory brought a smile on her face.

* * *

_"Please tell me we are done" Paige groaned loudly when she finally put down the last box on their room, she then went to the living room, she stared at the modern fireplace in front of her, she didn't know how to turn it on, she kept figuring how to do it until she felt Nina's arms on her hips embracing her, she left small kisses on Paige's collarbone and neck, and whispered softly "It has a remote babe" she then handed the remote which Paige took immediately and turned it on._

_They then moved to the couch where Nina handed a wine glass to Paige who kept her arms open signaling that she wanted her to sit with her, and she did, she sat very close to the brown haired girl, who put her arm around her shoulder while she put her arms around her waist, they enjoyed for a while the view and the closeness they were experimenting._

_"You don't have doubts do you?" Nina asked her, she was always second guessing everything when she misinterpreted Paige's silence._

_"No, I'm just enjoying the moment, today was exhausting, but I think it's perfect" she kissed the top of her head and squished her arm lightly._

_"I know, this is perfect, I'm going to be honest with you, I didn't have any reservations about us moving together after all of this time, this turned out to be like I always predicted" Nina explained._

_"So you've been planning this the whole time, huh" Paige remarked, she hinted mischievously._

_"Maybe, you know that unpredictable can't be good, so I anticipated everything, since the moment I saw you, I knew you would fall in love with me like me, just as I did when I saw the big goober you are" Nina laughed remembering how they met, adding an 'I love you'._

_Paige was struck by another memory when she heard the first part, she remembered her saying to Emily that unpredictable CAN be good, 'how things change' she thought. _

_She just smiled at her girlfriend who had her eyes closed, the tiredness finally taking its toll, she allowed sleep to come to her too, she whispered an 'I love you too' and that's the last thing she remembered for their first night after they moved in together._

* * *

The thoughts of her first night were mixed by the constant thoughts of her ex-girlfriend, she thought about all the times she unconsciously thought about Emily when she was with Nina.

Even the simple things as words or things made her remember her.

She tried to close her eyes to think about the good times with Nina, trying to think about the things she loves about her and their relationship, she succeeded for a couple of minutes when Emily's laugh came to her mind as she thought 'god I missed her laugh' and that's when she knew she needed something stronger than bear, she poured herself a glass of rum, and moved again to the couch. She tried to take small sips of the strong beverage but when again Emily's smile and her voice came to her mind she drank all of it in one sip.

It was on her third glass when she let her mind wonder to the things that she really wanted.

Some of them were thoughts of her upcoming wedding with the girl who made her happy in a sense and the girl who taught her that live goes on after a heartbreak, the girl who she promised to wed, and the girl who certainly kept a big piece of her heart, she knew she couldn't throw away what she had just because of an illusion of having Emily back, so that made her think about the other girl, Emily, she couldn't be the other girl, she was Emily and that made sense for her.

She was her first everything, in the back of her mind she wished that she was her last. Ideas twirled in her mind, thinking that she could see herself having her life with Nina, and other ideas as to call things off, to call the wedding off, just because Emily was back and because she said that she wanted her appeared.

She was caught in this turmoil, she knew she had to do something quick and that she needed advice, so she took her phone and called the person who always had her back and who could make sense to the things in her head.

"Hey honey, how are you, I knew that I would be hearing from you, a little bit later than I expected but that's ok, how is the wedding going…what's wrong" the sweetest voice of her mother resonated through the phone, she just smiled and already felt a little bit better, while she started talking and sensing like all mothers do when something is wrong.

She heard everything at first but after a while she responded "Hey mom, I've been better, I just…why did you recommended Hanna and Emily's agency mom?" Paige asked, she wanted to ask her so many things but that's what came first to her mind.

She waited a couple of minutes for her answer but it never came, so she told her all at once, how she was feeling right now about the wedding preparations and how Nina and her parents were making the calls and how badly she wanted other things and continued with what she felt when she saw Emily again and all of the things that came after that first encounter and to their last encounter, where she told her mother that Emily wanted her back, and that now she was alone at her apartment with all of these thoughts that were making her dizzy with the booze implied.

She let her mother collect her ramblings for a little bit and waited for her response, which came after a couple of excruciating minutes.

"Honey, I thought that maybe they could help with the wedding since they know you, I thought that it was only Hanna working but then I knew that either way you were going to see Emily, and I thought that maybe that's what you needed, you know some closure with her or for what I was afraid of, you know the push that you need to end things with Nina and for going for what you really want. I'm not saying that Nina is not what you really want maybe now it is, but you and I both know that Emily was truly the girl you wanted to spend your life with, even with your fights, with your breakups, I always knew that you were going to end up together, because that girl truly loves you, but if now it's Nina who you want then I'm happy for you, what you have with Nina is real and genuine, and I'm happy with what you have with her, but like a told you a while ago honey, is that your father and I are really proud of you and what you've accomplished with Nina and without her too, and whatever you decide we'll always be there to support you, because we want the best for you honey" Paige knew the instant that her mother started speaking that whatever she told her it was going to be the truth, she found comfort in her mother words and after they parted ways with the promise that Paige will call her back with whatever was troubling her she knew she needed to listen to her mother and go for what she really wanted.

After ending the call she poured herself the fourth glass and kept looking at a picture of Nina and her above the chimney, she was so lost in thought that she didn't hear Nina entering the house or the room until she felt two long arms on her waist.

"What's wrong?" Nina sensed something was off with her fiancée just by seeing her standing near the fireplace with a glass on her hand and her favorite picture of them on the other hand, and by the way Paige smelled it wasn't her first drink either.

"Paul called me today, he wanted to let me know that he was unhappy because you were unhappy, so he decided to book the place you wanted for us, and he told me it was not up to discussion, so I don't know you tell me Nina" Paige untangled herself from Nina's embrace, she took the drink with her to the couch, her eyes where fixed on the fire in front of her, memories of the phone call were making a comeback, and also the memory of Emily trying to ease her mood.

She watched Nina grab a glass of wine for herself and then slowly making her way to the opposite side of the couch, leaving them at a great distance.

"I told him about the disagreement we had about the place, and he thought that the place was perfect so he didn't understand why we had problems with it, and I guess he did it to surprise me I mean us, you know how he is with giving me what I want, and it's not a bad thing either I mean we don't have to worry about other places now and we don't have to worry about the money my dad could handle it and we could handle other things" Nina's tone was more final, she only explained what she thought it was logic, but she knew the minute she told her father that it would bring them some trouble, but it was something that she could handle.

Paige only disregarded her with a look, she put her empty glass on the table, and she repositioned herself on the couch, she hugged herself and put her head on her knees. She was trying not to get angry or agitated but her eyes were getting glassy, she knew she couldn't do anything about the place now, she only wanted Nina to respect her decisions and her too.

"Nina, this won't work if you keep making the decisions without me, I know how important this day is for you, because it's important to me too, and you know that I don't like to be lied to, and we agreed not to ask our parents for help you know only if we needed it, and I don't know…are you happy?"

"Of course I am happy, Paige you make me happy, you have to know that I didn't call my dad to complain about the place, I called him to tell him the new case I got which is pretty big and he noticed that I wasn't excited as I should be, so he asked and I answered, he made his own conclusions so now here we are, fighting for something that it's done, but maybe this is about something else, I guess I should ask you if you are happy with me because I can see how happy you are whenever you're with Hanna and Caleb and now even more with…Emily is this about her?"

Paige non intentionally took her time to answer her, it didn't meant that she wasn't happy, she just needed some time, to think of a way to tell her all of the things that she wanted.

"Nin I couldn't be happier with you, I just want to be more involved in our wedding, and I don't want any more lies and I don't want any secrets, if you want something you need to tell me, if you want to change something we could talk about it, you need to trust me, you know that this won't work if you don't give me enough credit to show you that I want this too, and this has nothing to do with them, they're my friends, yes even Emily, I know that we don't have a healthy friendship but we're getting there what we had was very special but like I said it was, and I want them back in my life, I've made a mistake by letting them go just because I was hurt but now I want to be part of their lives, and either like it or not they are a big part of me Nin" Paige saw Nina's tears progress with her answer, she closed the distance and wiped her tears gently with the back of her hand, "Nin I love you ok"

Nina had her reservations even after what Paige told her, she knew that she loved her and she knew that she loved her as well.

She kissed her worries away and they spent a few more minutes kissing on the couch when Nina said she was hungry, Paige reluctantly let her go while she stayed seated.

"So you got a new case" Paige asked her fiancée, she remember her mentioning that, she watched her girlfriend debating on telling her something or to keep her for herself. Nina choose the later as to keep the peace between them for a little longer, she didn't want to tell Paige that she was going to defend the girl she hated for years, she didn't know on what terms were they but she knew they weren't good.

Paige only raised her eyebrow waiting for her reply.

"Yeah, it's nothing, just a powerful family inheritance case you know, rich girl who wants her inheritance now rather than later and who wants to fight it with her brother and father, it's nothing much, but the problem is that I have to travel to New York for the case this week" Nina gave her more than she could hope for, or that's what Paige thought.

"Cool, so you're defending the little brat" Paige said with a smirk, and Nina only rolled her eyes at her comment, if she only knew, that her statement was indeed the case.

"How many days will you be gone?"

"I'm going tomorrow, I have to stay there for a week, so I guess we have to pick a day today for the wedding, how about you pick babe" Nina casually said, Paige only laughed at her fiancée she knew she was trying to make her feel included.

Paige suddenly was hungry and went to the kitchen to help with dinner.

"How about we do it on the eighteen of July" Paige suggested and when she didn't get an objection she grabbed Nina and kissed her hard, after coming out for air they rested their heads together.

"We have to start checking the things we already have for the wedding" Nina explained and Paige got an idea, she grabbed Nina's legs and lifted her onto the counter, she began kissing Nina's neck while telling her what they've done so far.

"Wedding place…check" She said it with a kiss on her collarbone.

"Date…check" another kiss on her right shoulder.

"Awesome and best choice for the cake…check" a kiss on her other shoulder.

"Our wedding entourage…check, although I have to ask Caleb to be my other best man" Paige explained while leaving a kiss on Nina's throat.

"Our honeymoon…sort of check" Nina suggested, Paige knew that Nina wanted to give her a surprise after some convincing on her part for letting her choose the destination.

Paige then gave her another desperate kiss on the lips, Nina then put a stop to the kisses for dinner, when they were seated on the dining room, the conversation flowed easily now that they were on better terms.

"So I was thinking that maybe the place you are going to see this Thursday could be the place for our rehearsal dinner, you know if you like it" Nina approached her with the idea and Paige couldn't be more happier.

"Thank you Nin, so in 8 weeks we're going to be married"

"Yeah babe, I'm so excited"

They both finished their dinners and went to bed, Paige chose to wear only a pair of shorts and a white tank top, while Nina went to do her nightly routine coming back with her lace pajama, Paige kept her gaze steady on her and her figure while she was slowly making her way to bed.

When she finally was under the covers she stopped Paige's advances with one of her finger on her lips and her hand in her chest.

"We need to review what's left for us to do babe"

Paige gave her the best pout she could ever form but Nina didn't surrender except for the peck on her lips.

She pulled out the agenda over her night stand and wrote something.

"So we have 8 weeks which we have to look for our wedding gown, we have yet to find the photographer, and we have to choose the flower arrangements and of course the band and the dance, we have to practice for our first dance, so which one would you like to do next week…I already began searching for the perfect…" Nina went through all of the details of each one, and by the end she saw Paige half asleep with her hand supporting her head and facing her, she tried to be mad at her for falling asleep on her but she was cute so she didn't, she only gave her a little shake and she widened her eyes signaling that she was awake now.

"I'm sorry, I think I will let you choose, I mean we have to choose all of this things together except the gown thingy, and I think all of the other things you can let Hanna Emily and even Aria to help us" Nina only gave her a nod of agreement and closed the agenda, she turned out the lights and searched for those strong arms and that body she knew would protect her, her head rested on Paige's neck as she sneaked her arm around her, and that's how she welcomed sleep.

Paige on the other hand couldn't now close her eyes for a second, she felt good having Nina in her arms, but she couldn't pinpoint the feeling that it wasn't the girl that she wanted to be with that night.

She knew she hadn't made a decision yet, but she knew that she had less than six weeks to make it.

* * *

"Rise and shine sweetie, you have to prepare to see the love of your life today…seriously Emily you're late, better go now than to regret it because Nina made you feel incompetent…so hurry, Caleb made breakfast, and if you come quickly I may let you eat pancakes" Hanna poked Emily in the ribs for the tenth time, when she saw her stir she went downstairs feeling accomplished for waking her best friend up in a good mood, a thing that hadn't happened other times.

Emily wasn't keen on leaving the bed that Thursday morning because she didn't want to witness again Paige and Nina interactions, she was far prepared to face Paige, now that she somehow knew that she wanted her back and she wished that Paige still felt the same.

She reluctantly went to take a quick shower, and proceed to get dress, she choose a wallet-friendly strappy frill dress, and a pair of sandals. When she went downstairs Hanna whistled at her choice and gave her thumbs up, she was dressed in a maternity fashionable dress too, her belly was growing fast and now at 5 months it showed.

"Are you coming with us today Han?" Emily said as she took her first bite of her pancake, smiling as she savored the food.

"Yeah I can't let you kill the bride…yet" Hanna fondly smiled at her friend who rolled her eyes and speaking of the devil she saw her phone lit up with Nina's name across the screen.

"Hello Nina, to what I owe the pleasure of you calling me this early in the morning, we agreed to meet in the hotel at 12" Hanna's sarcasm was showing and the little giggle that Emily let out didn't disturbed Nina.

"Good morning Hanna, I'm sorry for interrupting whatever you're doing there, but I need a favor…So I'm currently away on business and I tried calling Paige several times but she hasn't picked up yet she must be at work, so it would be very helpful if you pick her from there, she needs to go to this place because is going to be the place for the rehearsal dinner. I know she will like the place so can you book it for Friday 17 of July, and make sure she attends today, that will be all, thank you" Before Hanna had a chance to reply the line went dead, she only let out a frustrated sight until the ideas on her head made her giddy.

Emily only gave a look of 'what happened'.

"I guess Nina is in New York and she couldn't contact Paige, so we have to go get her at work, would you mind driving Em?, I'm feeling a little bit tired, I tried to do yoga like my doctor suggested but my hormones were working extra hard and I got horny and…" Emily knew what she was going to say so she put a finger on Hanna's mouth totally silencing her.

When she was sure that Hanna wasn't going to say anything more she let her go, Hanna just laughed at her friend and her childish behavior, they got in the car and now they were on their way to Paige's office.

When they arrived to the building, they were escorted by a pretty blond young boy who apparently was Paige's assistant, he led them threw a big black double doors where they took a seat at Paige's desk, he explained that she was in the conference room with clients and with Nina's father, he then returned to his desk and left them in the office.

Both girls took a liking to the room, but it was so different to what they were accustomed, the building itself had a powerful and dark touch, the walls weren't just walls, they were black metal glasses, when they entered they found a mahogany set in all of the room, the room was perfectly shaped and the furniture well placed.

The room was a dark brown with a little bit of Bordeaux wine, a large Bordeaux cherry 66 desk was set far away from the door and in the middle of the room there was two sets of leather dark brown couches and a table between them, behind the desk were two large book cases filled from the bottom to the top.

The desk only had Paige's latest iMac and a couple of frames that were situated facing inwards rather than outwards, and had a big intercom, where they assumed was the phone office, in one of the corners of the room was the bar with impressive large amount of different drinks.

The girls took a seat on the couch, to wait for their friend but not soon after Hanna got bored and wanted something to distract her, she started going around the room and picking up little things that got her attention, by each passing minute Emily started to get impatient too, but for Hanna and her snooping around.

Hanna by now was at the other side of the Bordeaux desk and began typing something in the computer, that's what got Emily to tell her to stop.

"Hanna please stop, someone could come in any minute, you will get thrown out" Emily pleaded, but she pleaded to deft ears it seemed, Hanna was so engrossed on searching for the right folder, she passed numbers of non-important folders until she gasped seeing one, Emily turned to see her expecting an explanation of such reaction.

Hanna just put her finger telling her to wait, she picked up the phone and called Paige assistant

-Hey handsome can you do me a favor, could you give me a heads up when Ms. McCullers comes

-yeah thank you that would be great.

Hanna then signaled Emily to come see, but she refused giving her a shake of her head.

"Paige has this folder named private videos, maybe this is where she keeps her hot videos" Hanna saw Emily instantly coming to her side but not for the reasons she thought but to stop her.

"We can't see this Han, this is invasion of privacy, let's…wait a second did you see this?" Emily was looking at a specific folder named Paily, Hanna shook her head and clicked on it, inside they saw a display of multiple pictures and videos of Emily and Paige through the years they were together, along with pictures of all the girls and Paige too, even one with Paige and Caleb engrossed on playing the video games while Hanna and Emily were behind them looking bored, and there were also bunch of notes actually, but there was one picture that caught her attention/

It was a picture of her when she was in New York, she knew the picture too well because Aria took it for the exhibit she had last year, and it made her happy and it gave her hope, she was about to open a note when the phone rang and they knew they had to go to the couch, they managed to do so with a couple of minutes to calm themselves down, Emily's heart was thumping so wildly that she thought everyone could hear it, but not for the thrill of almost being caught but for the mere thought of Paige loving her back.

The door opened and Paige came in with whom they assumed was Nina's father, they stopped to greet the girls, Paige was equally surprised and dreading their visit, Nina's dad gave each one a strong hand shake while Paige introduce them "Paul, this is Hanna Marin and Emily Fields"

"Actually is Rivers, nice to meet you Mr. Weisberger, we talked on the phone the other day" Hanna mentioned, she wasn't intimidated by the man, well maybe just a little but she remained composed as Emily.

When Paul turned to Emily, he remembered the things that Nina and Paige herself had told him about her, he gave her a look of approval and smiled "It's Paul and seriously Paige you have good taste in women, but bad taste in everything else" Paul laughed along with Paige who gave him a little nod of her head, she watched how the dress clung onto Emily's perfect body, she was almost hawking the girl when she remembered the presence of her future father in law.

Emily felt completely embarrassed and uncomfortable because he knew who she was, and she felt like he knew why was she there, and considering he was Nina's father she didn't type him as friendly at all but he was, and what surprised her the most was the relationship he seemed to have with her future daughter in law, she thought that they didn't got along since the phone call she received from him the other day, but it was quite the opposite.

"What brings you here girls?" Paul asked, Paige took a mental note and a mental slap when she remembered they needed to see the other place, even though it didn't matter now that they had the place, but Nina mentioned that maybe it could be the place for the rehearsal dinner.

"But sensing this one must've forgotten something I guess you're here to remind her" Paul finished, he looked at his watch and bid farewell to the girls explaining that he needed to get back to work and let Paige go all day with them if necessary.

"Are you ready?" Hanna asked, Paige told her that she was but she was expecting Aria and Abbie to come with them as well, so she sat behind her desk to send the last few emails to clients, she noticed Hanna's smirk when she started to type.

"What are you doing? Trying to delete your private videos?" Hanna innocently asked and Emily snickered at Paige, watching the auburn haired girl turning red and hiding her face behind the computer.

"I don't have 'private videos'" Paige emphasized with the air quotes on the private videos, she tried to act it cool but she was dying inside thinking that maybe they knew that it was true but in some extent.

"Yeah if you say so"

"I don't have them Hanna, you can see it for yourself" she said while tipping the same button that looked like she was deleting some things.

"Yeah you don't, relax, maybe now I think you do have them, stop deleting that" was all that Hanna said while laughing and soon after Emily and Paige joined.

The scene was stopped by Nina's call to Paige.

-Hey Nin how are you?

-um yeah I forgot but they're here now

-how's it going

-don't worry you will win

-yeah I will tell them right now

-I love you too, bye.

Some of the things that Paige said over the phone made the girls wonder if she knew about the case Nina was working on.

"Is everything all right?"

"Yeah it's just the case that is bringing her some problems, hmm she wanted me to tell you that we already have the date, it's going to be on July 18th" Paige declared, she was watching intently at her screen avoiding the girls looks for the same reason she didn't want to tell them.

Shortly the other girls joined the trio on the office not noticing the tension and the avoiding looks between them, Aria was equally surprised by the office as Hanna had been, and Abbie was being her upbeat self as they greeted the girls.

"Shall we" Abbie signaled the door, everyone nodded and decided to go, Paige declined to ride with Hanna and Emily and decided to go with Abbie, and Aria went with her friends. That left Abbie a little time to talk to her friend who actively had been avoiding her since the dinner.

"We haven't talked since you know Paige, what's wrong?" Abbie was hurt, seeing that her best friend was distant with her.

"Nothing's wrong Abbie it's just that I hadn't had time to do anything since either I'm working or doing something for the wedding" Paige had been intently avoiding her friend since she defended her to Alison, it wasn't a matter of pride but a matter that she knew it wasn't something for Abbie to defend her on, if she didn't gave into Alison's game was because she didn't care anymore, but now maybe Alison thought that it did matter to her for the suddenly outburst her friend threw at her.

"You know how I feel about you down casting stupid comments, you can't just let her treat you that way. I was just expressing something that you didn't but you wanted to, and it's ok now, Paige, she's gone, you should have seen her when Emily and Hanna threw her out of the house. It was priceless" Abbie snickered and Paige gave her a questioning look, encouraging her to continue.

"Well don't be mad, but Emily asked Alison about the fight, and she said that you were rude to her and I jumped in and told her about it, and that escalated quickly and in a blink of an eye she slapped her and threw her out" Abbie recounted all of the events that transpired before she went back in.

Paige was amused but also nodded minutely for knowing that Emily defended her because it was true she wanted her back.

"So I see you spend more time with them now, do you know something about certain someone?" Paige commented casually, her friend raised a perfectly arched eyebrow when she didn't elaborate further.

"Ok do you know something about Emily that I don't?" Paige's tone was now wary, and her friend lips were twitching in amusement.

"Why do you ask Spanky?" Abbie laughed when she remembered the nickname she gave her when she met her the first time.

"First of all we agreed that you were never going to call me that again and second because I think I need to tell you something" Paige fumbled with her phone as to distract her from the turn of the light conversation to a serious one, Abbie only gave her an encouraging nod and stare, and the girl continued.

"The other day we went shopping with Hanna and Caleb for baby stuffs, I was with Emily and she told me she wanted me back and I…I don't know if she wants me back as a friend or something more, now I want it to be as friends because I can't handle if she wants something more, I'm getting married for crying out loud and I don't think its appropriated to have sleepless nights just to think about a girl and what the implications about her words mean. So I'm asking you, do you know something…anything?" Paige stared pleadingly at her best friend, who gave her a slight nod.

"Look Paige I can't tell you something that it doesn't belong to me, she's the one who has to tell you, but just listen to your heart…and well something tells me that's what you are doing if you don't have a good sleep" Abbie softly said it.

Paige didn't realize they arrived to the shade's hotel when she felt a little tugging on her arm. Partially she was relieved that she invited Abbie and Aria because she couldn't stand the thought of going only with Emily, when they entered the lobby the other girls were already waiting for them chatting with a middle aged man who supposedly was in charge of the booking.

"So Paige this is Matthew, he will show us the event spaces that we could use" Hanna introduce them and proceeded to see the spaces, first they went to the lounges, he explained that they could mix the zinc lounge with the zinc terrace, which will provide them more space then he took the 5 girls to the zinc lounge and began explaining

"Mrs. Rivers indicated that you want to book the place for the rehearsal dinner so we could turn the lights down and create an environment that could be very private and intimate for when the dinner occurs and then we could extend the party to the Zinc lounge, there's our breezy, open-air Terrace that could be perfect for the intimate party. To insure your privacy, our luxuriously oversized curtains can be drawn, creating quiet and serenity, what do you think?" Matthew explained with details as he showed them how the event will come to place in the space they were seeing, honestly all of them agreed that this was a nice place, and Paige could only think about how perfect it was and how she couldn't wait to everything.

He then led the girls to the skydeck for a complementary drink which ended with them having lunch there, they were soaking up the sun and enjoying the good company and the great food.

"Do you like the place Paige?" Aria asked while drinking the blackberry cocktail that she requested, Paige could only nod while drinking her cocktail, but she was requested to explain further.

"Yeah I like this place, but I'm guessing that maybe Nina wouldn't" Paige then shrugged like she didn't want to continue with the conversation now that she had 4 pair of eyes watching her intensively.

"Well Nina said that she wanted us to book the place if you did like it and you do so…Aria, Abbie could you go with me to make some arrangements I think someone needs some alone time" Hanna pointedly said when both girls mentioned didn't moved or didn't catch the innuendo of leaving the other girls alone, but when they did they hurriedly went out with her.

"Talk about subtlety" Paige laughed at what was obviously an attempt from her friends to leave her alone with Emily, at first she was impressed by how quickly they left but then the feeling was replaced by dread because she somehow knew what was coming, for a couple of minutes it didn't, so she turned to see Emily who was watching her with a small smile.

"You know Hanna she's the queen of subtlety, she has the subtlety of a hand grenade" Emily grinned, thanking her friends for the opportunity to have some alone time with Paige.

"I thought that you had a bad relationship with Nina's father" Emily questioned her when she remembered the interaction between those two.

"With Paul? Huh no, he's like a second father to me, we have our disagreements on some things, but he taught me so much, I really admire him" Paige explained.

"Well it's good that you have a good relationship with your future family…so did you get to tell Nina about what you want for the wedding or did she bulldoze your words again and worked you over?" Emily didn't approach the subject in a good way.

"Yes, hence us being here, and Hanna running away to book the place Emily, and it's none of your business if I did or didn't" Paige snapped back, she didn't want to but she felt like she didn't owned her own bravery in terms of her talking to Nina, she felt bad afterwards when she noticed Emily avoided to look at her.

"I'm sorry Paige but I didn't want to hear that you had to give up another thing just because you 'need to make some sacrifices', you need to think about your happiness and not what you think could be it if you quit yours, stop thinking what other people want, what do you want Paige, because all I'm seeing is what Nina wants"

"I'm happy with what I have" Paige looked taken aback with the firmness of Emily's words.

"Yeah well it doesn't seem it that way" Emily shot back.

"It doesn't matter what it seems, it matters what it actually is, and for this is what I want, what about you Emily, what do you want…what are you doing here" Paige demanded when she waited for the answer but Emily looked like she was having an internal war with herself, they needed privacy to talk about it, so she send a quick text to Abbie telling her that they were going to the beach for a walk.

Emily knew that it was the opportunity to finally put all of her cards on the table and tell her that she was back for her. When she was about to, she saw Paige stand up, she thought that maybe she did know what she was about to say and didn't want to hear it but then she opened her hand for her to take it and she did.

She silently followed Paige outside the hotel as she led them to the beach, they both took of their shoes and continued with their walk, they were no longer grabbed to each other but the closeness of their brushing hands from time to time was enough for both of them.

"California is nice" Emily admired the scenery trying to avoid the gaze of the girl beside her.

"It's nice but I miss Rosewood in a way…funny huh" Paige mentioned, Emily titled her head in amused questioning "Why is it funny?"

"Because I just wanted to get out of that place, I wanted to get out of the drama, and the constant heartbreak but there's where I felt everything, that was the place that build the person that I'm today and being there taught me not to take things for granted and I feel like maybe that's what I'm doing, I want it back"

"Why would you want it back?" Emily nodded minutely knowing all of the things that she wanted too, she wanted to move to another place where she wouldn't be afraid, but she understood what Paige was saying, she wanted her back and what she had with her, what they had in that little place they called home and Emily wanted that too.

"Because in some way all of those things made me feel alive, I know it's contradictory and you would tell me that I'm crazy for wanting those things, but…" Paige began explaining, but she stopped when Emily stood in front of her.

"You want the best of everything again", and with that Emily simply closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms on Paige's neck while Paige wrapped her arms tightly around her body.

While savoring the moment of being held like that, she whispered into Paige's ear "I want that too, I want the best of everything, I've never stopped loving you I…I want you back Paige, please tell me that you want me too"


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I don't own most of the characters.**

**Flashbacks are in Italics.**

* * *

"Come on Paige" Abbie said to her best friend when it didn't work she started poking Paige on her cheek "Paige, wake up, wake up, wake up"

Paige slowly stirred from her slumber, cracking one eye open to see her annoying best friend smiling and not so far behind Aria holding a laugh on her own.

"It's early why on earth would you wake me up for" Paige asked still with the raspy voice she gets every morning. She turned to see Aria for an explanation given that her friend plopped back to her other side of the bed.

"Well Nina called and said that it was time for you to pick the other things on the list, which I assume are in this agenda, now come on, we haven't seen you in one week, you disappeared on us. Now let's go" Aria motioned the living room where she drag Abbie to, leaving Paige to get ready. When she was about to step into the room, her moves faltered when she heard the line of conversation that her friends where having.

"Do you think that Nina already told her about Alison's case?"

"I think so, maybe that's why she disappeared for a while…ok yes maybe it was also because of what Emily told her"

Paige then didn't want to continue to over hear their conversation so she acted like she was leaving the room.

She was angry that her friends knew about the case that her fiancée was working on and they didn't even made an attempt to talk about it.

She had to find out through Paul and that lead to another fight with Nina who was still in New York, but it wasn't only the fight that made her reclusive the past week, it was also the thing that happened with Emily, she needed the week to think about it, but that didn't work, the weekend left more thoughts on her head.

"What are we doing today?" Paige asked her friends who suddenly stopped talking, she acted like she didn't hear them and that made them feel relieved.

"So we have to go to some places, first we have to go to the florist and make the arrangements, we have to search for the photographer and she wanted you to take some dancing classes, and you have to go to your suit fitting or better yet you have to choose what you're going to wear" Aria explained everything to Paige, she didn't object to any of the requirements but she had a nagging question at the back of her mind, she wanted to know where were the girls who actually had experience on those things, but nonetheless she was grateful with her little friend for caring about her and the wedding.

They spent the majority of the afternoon going to different places that Aria mentioned, the three of them ventured on the many colors of flowers and arrangements and centerpieces for the tables, they had many options for a wedding this big.

When they bid their farewells Paige again found herself on the couch watching intently at the fire she started with her second glass of Jack Daniels, a big amount on her glass this time, when a sudden knock on her door interrupted her thoughts.

"You look like you need some company" Caleb greeted her friend, she only gave him a slight nod and opened the door for him to enter, she went to her previous position, leaving Caleb to his own devices, after a while he took a seat on the single couch.

"I brought beer but I see you're drinking something much stronger" Paige only nodded again and signaled the bar, to which Caleb went to have his drink.

Paige turned her head to look at Caleb and blinked out of her thoughts. "I'm sorry for disappearing, I just needed a couple of days to think about everything"

"And did you?"

"If we're being honest no, it brought more doubts and more headaches" Paige let out a dry laugh.

Caleb watched her friend intendedly trying to figure out a way to help her, but she continued "I love Nina, of that I'm sure, but I don't know if I want to spend the rest of my life with her because it's simple and easy and I love her I really do but-"

"But you still love Emily too" Caleb finished.

"I do I told you that I still love her but I also love Nina, that makes me selfish I know, I don't want to hurt them, everyone expects me to have the answer, to have a decision, they think it's easy but it's not, and I don't know if I can do it"

"But it's better to do it now than latter, you know that right" Caleb approached the subject again, the time was important and she had to think about that "Paige what about you? What do you expect from both girls, what do you want?" Caleb provided when Paige couldn't find the voice of her thoughts.

Paige shrugged her shoulders in a manner of defeat and his friend could tell that the subject and the long nights were taking a toll on her, he needed to know about what happened with Emily the other day, the only source only provided him with happiness but seeing Paige left doubts in him so he wanted to know what has been said.

"What happened with Em, what did you tell her when she said that she loves you?" Caleb expected another shrug but Paige needed to vent to his best friend about the girl who has made her question everything so she began explaining.

"Well…"

* * *

_Emily simply closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms on Paige's neck while Paige wrapped her arms tightly around her body._

_While savoring the moment of being held like that, she whispered into Paige's ear "I want that too, I want the best of everything, I've never stopped loving you I…I want you back Paige, please tell me that you want me too"_

_Paige untangled herself from the gripping hug, she swallowed hard as she caught Emily's eye._

_Here goes everything, she thought._

_"Emi-" she couldn't even manage more words when she felt soft lips on her, the lips she longed for so long, a flash of her fiancée passed through her mind and she suddenly and abruptly ended the kiss, she didn't let it go further than that but the small kiss had covered all of her doubts and all of the things that she knew where the best for her._

_Even though she wanted to scowl Emily she couldn't bring herself to do it, and so she remained silent._

_Emily only murmured a sorry before trying to walk away from the embarrassment and for the increasingly lost and emptiness she felt when Paige didn't said anything back since she told her desperately that she wanted her and how much she wanted her to tell her that she still loved her like she did, her advances of walking away where stopped by a firm but gentle grip on her wrist._

_A single glance at Paige and she knew that she couldn't do that to her._

_"I can't stand to see you walk away from me" Paige said, her posture composed but she had a slight worn out look on her._

_An awkward silence overtook them._

_They knew they needed to talk, the most important thing already had been laid on the table, when Emily come clean about her feelings, not all of them but the most important for their relationship._

_"I should have told you sooner, I should have been there the minute you left, I tried so hard to pick up the phone and just call you to tell you that I never stopped loving you, and now I don't think I could ever stop" Emily said suddenly, turning her head to meet Paige's eyes, she noticed the brunette dipping her head for a minute, and she took it as a good sign, her infamous dip that she longed for, the sign that her emotions were taking her in a whirlwind of emotions, being good ones, she also knew that it could mean something different like a sign of being hurt and losing the fight._

_"Why didn't you call?" Paige question was not laced with malice but with a hurtful voice._

_"I wanted to do that, but you know it wasn't as simple as a phone call"_

_"It was Emily, well it was a start" Paige said with sadness, although she knew deep inside that it was true, that a phone call couldn't fix the damage of the words and the actions that both did back then, but it sure hell it was a start._

_"I know that you wanted to give me the best chance to get out of the drama, but you didn't understand, you don't understand that I could have given you everything if you would've asked me, but well now I see that would have been futile if all you wanted was to be with Alison"_

_"Paige…" And there it was Emily thought even if this was about both of them it will always come back to the person who unconsciously brought them together then and also now._

_"Listen to me, I needed to know if what I felt for Alison was true, and I don't regret it because it brought me to you, I mean I would've preferred it if I didn't hurt you in the process of sorting my feelings, but through all of that I knew that I only loved you, I thought losing the Alison that I once loved was devastating but then losing Maya for real it left a big hole in my heart that I thought I could never replace it, until you came, so losing you by my choice was the hardest thing I've endure but in a way I was relieved that I didn't lose you like I lose them, but just the near thought of losing you like that, was the thing that kept me away from you, because you of all people deserve the best, I wanted to give you a life that I knew it could've been in danger If you continued to live there, and you got out, and I couldn't reach out to you until we found A, until we build our paths and our futures without the fear and ever after that I was too afraid, too afraid that you wouldn't want me, because of all of the things that I put you threw, and especially I was afraid that you found someone else and I didn't want to screw that up, but here I am, doing just that, turning up unannounced and telling you that I love you and I want you back, when you're happily engaged"_

_Emily knew that Paige looking away from her meant she needed to explain further._

_Paige stayed as still a she could, not wanting to disrupt Emily's thoughts or intentions in any way, but then Emily was rewarded when Paige turned her back to her, her face steadied but her eyes rolling with emotion and insecurity pleading her to continue, so she did._

_"I know I'm being selfish right now, but in the last 4 years I didn't knew what I wanted until one night I decided that I didn't want to live with the 'what if', my dad told me that I needed to fight for what I wanted so now I'm here, and I will fight for you, even though I shouldn't because you've found someone and you seem happy, but I can't stop now, not until you say that you want to be with her and not me. I love you Paige, and deep down I feel that you still love me too" Emily put her soul out in her speech, she told her what she felt for so many years and she couldn't be more relieved and somehow complete when she let her know what she wanted to tell her since she left._

_She of course expected her words to blow out in her face, to Paige lashing out, she expected the heartbreak that she knew it was coming, but it was met by the complete opposite, it was met by hope and ultimately the true._

_"I do, I still love you Emily" Paige watched Emily instantly turning closer to her watching the smile that immediately appeared on her, she hugged her again but with the new information that they both had it was like they were clinging to each other, savoring the feeling of knowing the love they once had was still there, still knowing that it was somehow wrong because of Paige's fiancée._

_"Nina" Emily whispered as Paige slowly untangled herself for the second time, very wary of the situation and probably for what could have transpired if she hadn't heard the name of her fiancée._

_"Yeah Nina" Paige mumbled, once she steadied her voice she continued "Em, I'm committed to her and I love her, but right now all I can think about is you. I just only need some time and space to think, could you give me that? I don't want to rush into anything so I think it would be best to have some time to think ok"._

_She reached over to brush Emily's long black hair with the back of her fingers and tucked it behind her ear, It was enough of a touch to be a comfort, just enough to remind them of their connection, Emily only nodded understanding what Paige was asking for, she took a moment to enjoy for a little while the moment between them until she knew she had to let Paige leave._

_She wished that it will be the last time she watched her go, because she hoped that the next time she would come back and never leave her again._

_Paige only deposited a small kiss in Emily's forehead and left._

* * *

"So now what?" Caleb asked, Paige only laughed because that's the thing she has been wondering since then.

"I don't know Caleb I'm still thinking" Paige answered flatly while Caleb gave her a sympathetic look, while both of them nursed their beverages.

"Well either way Paige, I'm here for whatever you need and I will fully support you with your decision. Hanna too although she told me to tell you to pick Em because well duh…her words not mine, I won't lie to you either but I do want that too, she really wants you to give her another chance, she loves you"

"I know Caleb, and I wish it would be that easy but you know it never is…hey before you go, I wanted to ask you something" Paige began, she knew it was the perfect moment to tell him to be her best man aside from Abbie.

"If you wanted to ask me to marry you well it's too late I'm already married and I'm about to have a kid" Caleb joked, Paige only threw him a cushion while laughing too.

"Ok you big idiot, I wanted to know if you would like to be my the best man, you know after everything you're still here and no matter what happens with Emily and if I carry on with this wedding I want you by my side, you, Hanna and the future little mini you mean so much to me, but if you don't want to I mean is ok I…" Paige speech faltered to the end because she doubted her request but after a couple of seconds she got her answer.

"Tell you what Paige I will be your best man if you are the godmother of this baby, we're pretty set to being part of your life as you being in ours, you know that we only want what's best for you" Paige only smiled and that was pretty much her answer as well as Caleb when he smiled back and went out the door, he needed to go to her wife and her constants cravings for the simple things. They were happy by the end of their conversation knowing that whatever Paige decided they will maintain their friendship regarding to her love life.

Not soon after she heard some rustling at the door, she picked her pace and opened the door widely to see who was on the other side, and she was welcomed by the sight of her tired and sleep deprived fiancée, Nina let out a long sigh while dropping her search for her keys and too see Paige looking at her surprised.

"What are you doing here?" Paige asked as she retrieved the two bags on the floor, while Nina entered with small steps, as she dropped herself on the couch she huffed irritated "Well it's my house, why wouldn't I be here"

Paige after dropping the bags on their bedroom floor went out to where Nina was, wincing because of the way Nina responded back, she noticed how stressed her girlfriend was.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean that, I just thought that the case would take longer…what happened?" she said while taking a seat near Nina's legs and putting them across her lap, she began stroking her long and tanned legs while trying to figure out what happened.

"No, I'm sorry babe, it's just we lost and I didn't see any reason to stay there anymore, you know you got a pretty big hard ass lawyer friend, even though it was destined for them to win the case, so please remind me in the future not to divorce you because I don't want to fight Spencer ever again" Nina playfully said and that earned a full laugh from Paige, after a moment Nina sensed something was wrong again, knowing that the fireplace was on and for the couple of beers and the nearly empty bottle of whiskey on the table.

"What's wrong?" Nina asked while trying to sit up but failing as she was tired for the flight and for the long hours of discussing the case. "I know something's wrong because you only turn on the fireplace to clear your thoughts and the half empty bottle says that it's difficult to process whatever's happening in that beautiful head of yours"

"Well it's been a long week, I just needed to relax for a bit and I needed to clear some thoughts" Paige answered honestly, keeping her thoughts vague but telling the truth altogether, but Nina was relentless about finding what was happening with her.

"What thoughts Paige?"

"Um you know work, your case which we need to talk at some point, the wedding plans, just you know everything"

Nina pretended to think about the subjects for a little while, and then she carefully approached.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the case but I didn't think it was important for you to know who I was working for, but after some things I realized that it was wrong for me to assume and I'm sorry, as to your work I can tell my dad to give you the next days off as you mentioned that the wedding plans are getting in the way, maybe I can take care of them for now on and I will definitely tell you about my cases and I will definitely tell you how much I love you, you see everything has a solution" she sensed that she had another thing in her mind and she knew exactly well what was it, but she didn't want it to discuss it at the moment, she knew the right time will come.

"Yeah I wish it was that easy" Paige only murmured.

"You know it is if we do it together, I love you and I will do anything to make you feel like it's easy, it's supposed to feel that way, you know since the moment I met you I knew that I wanted you in my life, and now we're closer to our forever, I don't want you to think that I don't take our problems seriously because I do and I can't say enough how sorry I am for not telling you about Alison, and for leaving you alone with possibly the worst case scenario for me if you choose her at the end". Nina sat up and grabbed Paige's hand in hers, and Paige could only nod at her words failing a little to move towards the end but she tried not to seem so obvious that she was afraid that Nina knew about her feelings for Emily and that the possibility of what she said could be true, but after seeing Nina so open and so defenseless and tired, a wave of guilt plagued her mind and for the moment she wanted to make her feel better and to put aside her feelings for a while for the woman she promised to spend the rest of her life with.

"I know you're sorry, and it's ok, I don't understand it yet, I don't know why did you lie to me and why did you accept her case but I'm trying to understand it ok…I felt the same way when I first met you and I intend to keep you in my life but…" Paige faltered her speech for a moment and continued "but there are some things we should talk about, the past few weeks some things have happened and I'm still trying to figure out some way to understand them but I want you to know that I really love you too" Paige ended, she brought her intertwined hands to her face and she kissed Nina's hand gently, she saw a little smile and for now that was enough for ending the night on a good term.

She pulled her up and lead her to their bedroom quickly aiding her to get on the bed as soon as they were changed and ready, they were on the verge of falling asleep when Nina turned to her and wrapped an arm around her and rested her head on her chest.

"I feel like I'm losing you to whatever is happening in your head, I know about Emily, Alison told me and I get the feeling that you know why she's back too, and I just wanted to tell you that I would understand if you…if you want that too, I do care about your past and about you and I know how important was what you had with her but I simply wish that I'm enough for you now and that you want me, because she is your past and I am the present and I want with all my heart to be your future, I love you so much Paige and I want you by my side for the rest of our lives, I want to be enough because you are for me"

Paige couldn't see Nina's face due to the darkness of the room, but she could still sense and feel the emotions behind those words and the tears that told her that what she had in her arms was the best option for now.

She needed to make up her mind sooner rather than later, because given their countless sleepless nights and the whirlwind of emotions she knew deep down what she wanted and she couldn't prolong the inevitable.

She only wished she could be braver, but for the moment she wasn't and she was sure that she wasn't making the right decision but she chose what she thought it was the best for now.

"Nina I love you" Paige hoped that Nina understood that she was choosing to stay and she did, but she also knew that maybe it could change.

As soon as she said it Nina let out a sigh of relieve and moved even closer to her, as they lay there at night, Paige remained awake while Nina held onto her rather strongly, both trying to fall asleep, one pretending that she was happy and the other one with a broken heart.


	20. Chapter 20

_**Disclaimer: I don't own most of the characters.**_

**_Flashbacks are in Italics_**

**_A/N: I do not condone cheating in any way, but this is different._**

* * *

The next following weeks were a blur for Paige, she decided to let Nina be in charge of the wedding plans, while she focused on her job and the last few classes she had to attend before graduation.

She knew it was a conscious effort to stay away from Emily, since she couldn't tell her herself that she was still marrying Nina but she hoped the message was clear when Nina informed the girls that for then on it will be them three.

She was nervous to tell Nina that she didn't want to go to any more meetings with her, she didn't want her to think that it was because she was backing out of their wedding, but she preferred that over the truth that was that she was scared of seeing Emily and change her mind which was practically the same thing.

* * *

"Is this your way of saying that you don't want to marry me anymore" A very agitated Nina asked Paige after she told her that she wouldn't be in the next meetings unless it was extremely important.

"No" was her short answer.

"So what are you implying Paige?"

"No, I didn't said that, I just told you that I will leave you in charge, because I for one trust you and because I want to focus in my finals and work has been killing me, your dad is killing me honestly, it's not because I don't want to marry you, because I do, and I told you the other night I want this ok" Paige calmed Nina with a searing kiss at the end of her explanation.

Nina thought that it was for the best, in that way she wouldn't have to worry so much about Paige and Emily giving each other longing looks, which she found was very common between the ex-couple.

And she also could have her way in many things, so she didn't complain anymore and prepared herself to tell the girls about Paige decision which she was delighted to tell Emily about it.

* * *

When that day came, she strolled towards Hanna's office with a big smile on her face, she encountered the two friends talking quietly and closely like they were discussing a plan, she cleared her throat and both of them cut their conversation short, both seemed to search for her other half and her smile grew bigger because she remembered what she had to tell them.

"Hello Nina, how was New York?" Hanna politely asked even though she knew very well about it thanks to Spencer and a very angry Alison.

"It was futile as you may know" Nina replied watching intently at Emily who was trying to look busy with papers, the only moment she turned to see her was to ask if Paige was ok and if she was coming, to which she replied "She has a lot on her mind and she preferred to leave it to us for the rest of the wedding plans, she will be here if it is necessary, but I think we can manage it"

Hanna was sad to hear it, she knew exactly well why did Paige didn't want to be there so now she had to come up with a plan to get the two together.

* * *

Emily on the other side was happy because she got a beautiful flat near Hanna's house and now she she was sad because Paige was still getting married, she was clear she wouldn't stop until Paige said it, until she asked her to stop, she was slowly losing her mind when she didn't see Paige for a week, she told herself that Paige needed space and she was giving it to her but then the week turned into two then to three and on the second week Nina was back and telling them that she was going to do everything without Paige and that it was her decision not hers, she knew that maybe that was her way of telling her what she decided but, she wouldn't let her go that easily and she didn't want to take it as her final decision not until she says it to her face.

The three weeks were passing agonizingly for her although having to search for an apartment was an important thing in her mind but it didn't take her thoughts about Paige away, she tried to busy herself into her new two floor studio apartment, and she succeeded for a while.

Emily decided to rent the studio only for 6 more months and if in the end she didn't saw herself living in California then she will go to New York to open an office there, for them to have more chances at succeeding and to expand their business, but she knew it was more than that, she didn't saw herself living there without Paige, but her answer would have to come the moment she knows about Paige's decision.

She hadn't seen Paige or hadn't heard her voice and neither did Hanna, she knew Caleb was still talking to her, he considered it was best if he didn't tell them what they had discussed, she knew that Paige asked him to be her best man aside from Abbie, she knew that in less than a month she will be married, and she was running out of options.

Emily knew by far that what they had was not over, it wasn't until Spencer called and told her that Nina knew about her wanting Paige thanks to Alison of course that got her reeling, she knew it was a matter of time for Nina to find out.

Spencer also told her that she was trying to get her work done for her to visit them and to help her to get Paige back, she also mentioned the many encounters she had with Nina and that all of them ended with them fighting and Spencer wining most of the arguments and ultimately the case.

She went back to planning something but Hanna was already one step ahead of her, in the tree weeks, they had covered most of the wedding plans except their respectively attires and the dance rehearsal and of course the delivery of the invitations, the last part was definitely the final step for them to make it official, not that it hadn't been but it made the hole commitment for public knowledge.

They had only 1 month to do it.

Hanna was pretty confident about having everything under control but she was getting tired and all she wants is to stop the wedding before it happens and for Paige to finally realize that she was making a mistake.

That brought her to her current predicament "So how do we get you in a room with Paige?" Hanna pondered, she was making a list of the few things left for the couple, and she was searching for a way to get her best friend and her idiot friend to see each other, she thought that it was simple as that, maybe if Paige saw Emily then she would realize that she wanted her or maybe she would let her know that she wanted Nina but either way her friend needed the answer.

Hanna knew that with each passing day Emily was losing her mind, and not only because of the silence that the auburn haired girl was giving her but also for the constant nagging that Nina was giving them.

"I don't think it would work Hanna, either Nina is with us or she's with Paige, and Paige made it clear that she doesn't want to see me, she already made her decision Hanna I don't know why you bother with all of this" A very discouraged Emily answered.

There were days were she would lose hope and be sulking all day and other days when she was making plans and concocting the wildest ideas that Hanna or Abbie threw at her.

For now it was the first case, she was bummed after hearing that Paige already graduated and she had a small dinner celebration with her parents and Nina's parents and of course Abbie and Aria, the latest was the one to tell them the good news.

"I've told you before Em, all that she needs it's to see you, honestly you are so dense sometimes, you know well that she's afraid of seeing you because of what she may do if she saw you, she loves you so much that the best way for her to do the honorable thing is to not see you and kept this charade of a wedding" Hanna slowly explained, she was approaching her best friend when an idea popped in her mind, she was so delighted for having come up with the idea that she clapped her hands and smiled wider than ever before.

Emily only got more confused by her friends' erratic behavior and before she could ask her what was wrong, Hanna silenced her by putting her hand on Emily's mouth and grabbing her cellphone.

-Hello Nina, how are you

-Yes everything is fine I just wanted to tell you that the rehearsal for the dance has been pushed back for a couple of hours, they need the studio for an emergency class, so your appointment will be at 9

-Ok don't worry I will let Paige know about the change, have a good day" when Hanna finished talking with Nina she dropped her hand from Emily's mouth and suddenly was engulfed by her friends arms, she did it carefully as not to make her uncomfortable due to her belly but she felt the happiness irradiating from her friend.

"So you won't tell Paige about the 'sudden change' right?" Emily asked somewhat busy trying to figure out what she was going to wear and what was she going to say to her, and obviously what she will do once she knows what Paige decided.

"Nope"

"But what if Nina finds out" Emily asked worrisome.

"She won't, that's why she told me to let Paige know about the change, she was busy to do it, soooo…what we will need is Aria to keep her distracted for a while and then lead her to the studio, so you will have Paige all to yourself for a few hours" Hanna ended with a wink.

Emily really loved Hanna and her devious mind, they began to get excited as they planned everything.

Hanna eventually called Paige to tell her that the studio was already booked for 7 pm and that she's expected there, she sent her the address and bid her goodbye, then she called the studio to let them know that they won't need the instructor to come by 7 but at 9 instead.

Then she received the call she has been waiting for from her tall and smart best friend, Spencer told Hanna that she was going to arrive soon at the airport and to be there on time, that brought Hanna a smirk when she thought of the second part of her plan and ended the call with the reassurance that she was going to be there and that she missed her.

And finally she called Aria who was already going to see Nina, she explained everything to her and instructed her that she had to keep her distracted until 9, she asked why was the sudden change and she told her about leaving Emily and Paige alone for a couple of hours.

Aria understood what Emily needed but she was feeling bad for Paige for having to decide and for breaking one of the girls heart and if the wedding was moving forward she knew which one was going to get hurt and she didn't want that either.

She accepted Nina's request for her to be one of the bridesmaid one because that's what Hanna and Emily asked her to do and the other that kept her more worried about everything was that she got along pretty well with her, she knew her before she was with Paige or well knew her before she knew that the girl she loved was Paige, and for her instant connection about art and other things, she appreciated the same things that she did and she was already her friend but she was afraid that she was becoming one of her closest friend, so she couldn't stop voicing her worries to Hanna which led to a fight between them, she told her that she was going to give them one hour and that was it, if Nina wanted to go before the appointment to check out the place then she wouldn't stop her, and she knew that was probably going to be the case.

Emily went through her full closet for what seemed to be the hundredth time in the last half hour, between planning and letting Hanna do the damage control, she had the dilemma of what to wear.

Hanna returned with a foul mood to Emily's bedroom and Emily sensed it.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked.

Hanna whirled around at the sound of Emily's voice that was crouched on her closet. Hanna stood in the bedroom door peering in at the mess that Emily had made of the bed. Clothes from the closet were strewn carelessly across it.

She approached the bed and slowly laid down on the various clothes "Just Aria" Hanna replied shortly.

Emily had heard her friend raising her voice over the conversation about her situation with Paige and now she was concerned.

"Well just Aria isn't just Aria, she's our best friend, so what happened?" Emily tried to throw as many of her clothes away for Hanna to get comfy on the bed, but she still collapsed onto her bed amidst the discarded clothes with a sigh, she reached Hanna's belly and started to rub gently, she found it soothing to do it and Hanna always let her because it was soothing for her too.

"Aria doesn't think it's a good idea"

"Why? What did she tell you?"

"You're not going to like it but I warned you" Hanna began, she saw Emily giving her a single nod and continued "She doesn't like that we're ambushing Paige, she thinks that Paige will come to you when she's ready, and she won't hold Nina any longer than necessary, if she wants to go to the dance studio before the appointment then she won't stop her".

Emily slowly retrieved her hand and turned onto her back and watched the ceiling, she knew that Aria was right, she didn't even knew why did she agreed to Hanna's plan, she needed Paige to know that she wanted to fight for her and that she was going to be there even if she asked for space, she wouldn't let her go so easily, and because she knew that Paige was easily choosing the easiest way by not seeing her, eventually Hanna explained the same thing that was crossing her mind at the minute as she only caught the last part

"…So that's why she needs to see you, now what are you going to wear?" Hanna finished.

Hanna between calling Aria and Paige had heard Emily tossing things around the room for nearly twenty minutes, searching something for Emily was always difficult.

They decided to keep it casual, nothing to extraordinary or to out of her character and they took into account that she could maybe share a dance or two with Paige.

She decided to wear a black bodycon dress with an open denim blue shirt over her dress paired with black ankle boots.

After what it seemed like hours they both missed the fact that they were late and it was already quarter to 7, so when they arrived at the studio they saw Paige's car already in the parking lot without her in sight, Hanna only bumped slightly Emily's arm and told her that she was only a call away and to go get her girl as she drove to the airport to pick their best friend who wanted to give them a surprise.

Emily's heart was bumping wildly, when Emily steadied her breathing she asked at the front desk for directions when she arrived she slowly opened the room, she heard music already blasting inside so she didn't want to interrupt the lesson if she had the wrong door but when she stood at the door she appreciated the view and the girl inside, the room had mirrors on the front of the wall and half of window ceilings where you could look to the beach in one side, it had a wonderful view.

Paige was already in the room having arrived at 7 on point but when she entered she was alone, she didn't mind having a few minutes to herself before Nina came by and eventually the instructor, but after 5 minutes she became desperate and connected her iPhone to the speakers, she was trying to come up with the dance by her own.

She chose their wedding playlist and began dancing, she pretended that she was dancing with someone and she did everything, the turns and the elaborate waltz. After 10 more minutes she didn't notice the figure that was standing by the door until she heard her name.

"Paige" Emily said smiling and on the verge of laughing when she watched the scene unfold, Paige was dancing alone, to a fast pace song but trying to do the waltz.

Paige movements faltered completely when she heard her voice, she knew she looked like a crazy girl by dancing alone and the song choice wasn't helping either. After turning herself to face Emily she only saw her smiling and biting her lip trying not to laugh, and it occurred to her that she came for a reason and that was to practice the dance.

Emily noticed Paige eyes drifting off to her outfit and to her body as she did the same, she knew that it was a great choice when she noticed Paige gulp and then trying to get something out of her bag which turned to be water, water that seemed to cool her off.

"What are you doing?" Emily asked as Paige blushed a little when she whipped the little sweat on her neck with the bottom of her t-shirt after drinking the water, she didn't do it intentionally but by doing it she showed her toned abdomen and a little bit of her bra, which made Emily breath falter, she turned her eyes to another part other than the body of the girl she so wanted back.

She tried not to get aroused but, just watching the simple movement made Emily shut her eyes and try not to stare and not to feel what she was feeling.

"I was dancing...but maybe I need more practice and someone to practice with" Paige smirked.

"No, you were fine dancing by your own, I enjoyed it and you were certainly enjoying it as well" Emily was nervous so she looked down trying to avoid those big brown eyes, she knew that Paige was implying that she wanted to dance with her, but she kept herself to a great distance, even though she wanted to touch her, to feel her wrapped around her and to feel safe swaying with her.

She eventually turned to see her and she saw Paige only a few steps away.

"Em would you dance with me?" Paige offered her hand which was promptly taken by Emily as she placed her hand gently on hers, the moment she did she felt an electric feel between the now enjoined hands. Paige snaked her right arm around her waist, securing her tightly in her hold. Paige lead Emily's left arm to rest on her right arm.

At the beginning they were touching each other lightly they were keeping themselves at a great distance, the distance that claimed that they were just practicing, but as the songs changed every once in a while they found themselves almost tangled to each other. Their upper bodies pressed closer together, Emily's left hand now on the back of Paige's neck and Paige's right arm secured in Emily's waist.

Emily tried not to stare at those warm brown eyes, because she knew that if she did then it would be more difficult to let her go, it was difficult as it is but looking at her would destroy any progress she had with her impulses.

She felt so content to be in Paige's arms, it seemed natural to be in her embrace, it felt like time didn't went by all those years and they were back to each other, as if all the hurt and the pain that they endured when they broke up or when she found out that she was getting married had completely disappeared, and only leaving them in this moment where she swore she could feel the love.

Emily whispered timidly next to Paige's ear "You were always good at dancing"

"You're the better dancer here I'm only good because of you" Paige whispered back, Emily felt the same, she loves dancing but she loves to dance with Paige more, no matter the circumstance she always found dancing with her safe and in a way an intimate action between them.

She remembered all those days where they would dance and just dance, but it was another memory a highlight that came to her, and that was the hoedown, the place where they danced to the last slow song and the place where they promised each other without saying it that they were always going to be together and that they love each other so much, that was the place where she told her that she didn't want to end with mushy squash, and now she didn't want Paige to end with mushy squash either.

The next song pulled her from her thoughts as she felt Paige's hold tighten and picking her up and swaying more gracefully than before, she saw her smile, she figured that Paige loves the song but she hasn't heard it before but she was soon starting to love it as well as she heard the lyrics, resting her head in Paige left shoulder.

...Lie down with me

And hold me in your arms

And your heart's against my chest, your lips pressed in my neck

I'm falling for your eyes, but they don't know me yet

And with a feeling I'll forget, I'm in love now

Kiss me like you wanna be loved

You wanna be loved

You wanna be loved

This feels like falling in love

Falling in love

We're falling in love...

"I love this song" Paige said with a beaming smile.

Emily just nodded, slowly turning to see her "Yeah it's beautiful...what's the name of the song? I haven't heard it"

Paige smile grew bigger and bigger and Emily matched her smile, Paige felt her heart beating faster by the minute, she felt Emily's heart bumping wildly against her chest too.

If seeing those brown eyes were what kept the thoughts of kissing her on her head then she needed a distraction so Paige chuckled and easily took up the lead again, guiding Emily closely around the floor.

When the chorus hit again, Paige lifted her arms and spun Emily so her back nestled perfectly against her front. Emily let her head rest against her ex shoulder.

Emily swore she could never feel anything without her touch, but the breathy shudder against Emily's neck as her thumbs caressed the hand that was on her hip made Paige wonder the same too, she slowly tried to turn until she felt a tug on her waist, and surprisingly in time, the brunette spun her out and brought her back in, lifting her in the air once more and spinning them until they were again face to face.

Paige pleased smirk was contagious as she brought Emily back down.

"Kiss me"

Emily didn't have to be told twice so she pressed her lips to hers. It was slow and delicate but she felt everything with it.

She felt alive, she knew she was pushing her luck when she wanted to try that again but she couldn't stop the yearning of Paige's soft lips so she kissed her again and now it was slowly becoming hard and needy, a kiss that she'd been dreaming of since the moment she saw Paige, the girl who had completely rapture her heart and soul.

She smiled when she felt Paige give in and kiss her back, her hands tightening over her waist as Emily continued to kiss her with everything she had. She felt a few tears on her and she didn't even knew it was her who was crying until Paige stopped the kiss to wipe gently the few tears that cascaded on her face.

She just saw a warm smile and then she heard her laugh.

"What?" Emily asked she couldn't even ask her properly since she couldn't speak, afraid that her voice would betray her and show how much it was killing her that Paige was going to marry some other girl who wasn't her, and because she couldn't have those lips or those hands that by now where on her face, she felt Paige's fingertips prickling as she gently stroked over her cheeks

"The song is kiss me, by Ed Sheeran"

As soon as she said it, Emily felt mortified but then she remembered that Paige kissed her, she kissed her back with the same intensity and the same longing that she was showing.

Paige noticed the distress that Emily was in and she pecked her lips one more time, it was a chaste kiss but nonetheless it seemed to have a calming effect for the raven beauty.

Paige then tucked in a loose strand of Emily's hair and caressed softly her cheek with the back of her hand.

"I'm sorry" Emily said, that was the only thing that she could come up with, even though she wasn't sorry.

Paige felt the same thing, she knew that Emily shouldn't apologize when it felt so right to be kissing her and to be still holding her in her arms "Well I'm not"

"Yeah I'm not sorry either" Emily playfully said, her lips twitching in amusement and happiness, but she knew that the bubble they were in will soon crumble down either by the nagging feeling that she needed to know about Paige's decision or that in any minute Nina was going to appear.

But of course her desire to know was quicker and after what happened and after that kiss she couldn't hold back any longer "You've been avoiding me and-".

"No don't" Paige groaned in protest, she didn't want to let her go yet since she was sure where the conversation was going.

"I know why but I want you to say it"

Paige then let go of her strong hold on Emily's waist and let her hold altogether and released a long sigh, she turned the music down, and watched Emily pace around the room like she was trying to keep herself a great distance from Paige.

"I haven't been avoiding you…" Paige began but after seeing the disapproving look on Emily she tried to tell the truth this time.

"I've been busy with work and college and you know stuff so I couldn't come to…" Paige faltered at the last minute trying to explain better yet trying to avoid what she really wanted to say.

"What? A decision?" Emily anger was slowly creeping in, she didn't want to but, seeing Paige keeping in so vague, well she knew that she had been busy but in that time she could've come to some sort of choice, right?

"No…" Paige decided at the last minute that she was nowhere near ready to make a conclusion about it "Well yes".

"So this" Emily signaled the room and them "being here to practice your first dance doesn't mean anything?" Emily asked, but her question sounded a little bit hopeful, she tried to phantom the idea that Paige wasn't thinking at all.

"To be honest no, I'm just following instructions, I've been living by it, you know, everyone telling me what to do, what not to do, telling me that I have to decide and right now I don't have the head to do that, but I'm trying to come to terms of what I want but you know how hard it is, so can you give me a little bit more time?" Paige stopped for a second debating if she wanted to bring up the past even though she knew why Emily did it but she wanted her to understand as she did, many years ago.

Paige saw Emily nod knowingly "Ok" Emily said.

Paige let out a sigh of relieve and went to pick up her phone to see the hour and to see if she had any messages or calls from Nina, it was normal if she was 10 minutes late but she widened her eyes when she saw that a full hour and a half passed since she arrived, she was amazed by the time but she was not surprised either because she was lost in Emily's eyes and those kisses.

She was getting lost in her thoughts again when she saw the incoming message from her fiancée telling her that she was on her way to the studio for the reschedule class.

She was confused at first and she was going to send her a text asking about the change but then she realized the plan that was most certainly executed by her ex-girlfriend and her blonde friend.

She chuckled at first but then let out a full laugh.

Emily was enthralled about her sudden change of mood and didn't know what to say until she saw Paige coming closer to her. Her breathing was becoming shallower with every single step, and when she finally was face to face with Paige she was surprised by the immediately kiss that she received.

Paige chose to kiss her senselessly as a way of thanking her for the wonderful night that she had, again letting out a laugh at the devious plan.

"Should I ask why aren't Nina, Aria and even Hanna here?" Paige said as she sat down near the speakers crossing her legs and patting the place next to her for Emily to sit as well.

Emily caught up Paige's meaning and she blushed profusely, she let out a laugh on her own as she sat down next to her but she tried not to look at her eyes, embarrassed for getting caught.

"You shouldn't…they will be here any second" Emily assured her but whispering 'or in another hour'.

"What did you say?" Paige asked even though she clearly heard her, again smiling when Emily only gave her a weird look pretending that she didn't said anything.

"So whose idea was this?"

Emily took a gulp not knowing if Paige was upset or just intrigued about the whole plan that took moments ago, when she was about to tell her, Paige beat her up to it "I'm guessing Hanna, but lately Abbie has been bugging me with 'you need to see Emily and chose her and you need to stop being such a bitch you're starting to be like Nina' you know classic Abbie" Paige smirked this time after seeing Emily's lip twitching in amusement.

"You should listen to her" Emily snickered.

"Well last time I did that, I ended in jail and with a black eye, Nina had to bail us out, so maybe I shouldn't" Paige retold a very fond memory about her best friend, they both giggled.

"I almost forgot…congratulations for graduating" Emily timidly said and Paige only gave her a grateful nod.

"I heard that you moved out, Caleb said that Hanna has been sulking around the house all day, how does it feel to not be treated like a baby?" Paige said with a wink but Emily only nodded absently feeling guilty about it and of course Paige noticed.

"Hey, they understand that you need your space, you shouldn't feel bad about it, it's a good thing that you're making plans to stay here, it's better than to have you across country"

Paige saw Emily frown, she knew that she was only staying there because of her and if they didn't work out then the possibility of her staying will be almost nonexistent.

She automatically brushed the frown with a peck of her lips very slowly and with such a care trying to ease the worries, when it disappeared, Emily took Paige's hand in hers and Paige picked up their hands and kissed the back of Emily's hand sweetly, the movements were like second nature for them, like they've done it many times.

After a few minutes they began to realize how perfect the moment was and how much they wanted to kiss each other, they were so close to reconnecting their lips again, but they heard voices outside the class and they stopped.

One of those voices belonged to Paige's future wife.

Emily was quicker on her moves and was already across the room trying to balance her breathing and trying to act normal, trying not to show how sad, angry and empty she felt without Paige, she chose to stare outside the window ignoring the voices that were already inside.

Paige sat frozen on the floor, trying to fight the tears when she felt Emily pull away from her, it wasn't until she felt a presence above her that she shook herself unto consciousness, she realized that the long tanned legs belong to none other than her fiancée who was giving her a weird look and then a annoyed look to the girl standing at the window.

Aria was the first to greet them and then Nina who helped Paige to stand up.

The short girl went to see if Emily was ok given that she didn't even acknowledge her presence when she came to the room.

They both turned to look at the couple who were already raising their voices over something.

"…So why are you early? I told you we were supposed to be here at 9?" Nina asked.

"Well I could ask you the same question, but knowing you, you just came to see how good this place is and if it fits to your standards" Paige snapped, already feeling bad for it, she was annoyed by her interruption but also felling guilty for felling that way.

"I'm sorry for wanting the best for our wedding Paige" Nina scoffed, she didn't like Paige's attitude. She knew she interrupted something but she was more concerned about them having time to have that 'something'.

Paige was even more annoyed as she rolled her eyes and huffed and when she was going to reply back she heard Emily's tight voice.

"We should probably go look for the instructor and then be on our way" she grabbed Aria's hand for emphasis and was already near the door when Nina said 'Wait'.

She really didn't want to stay or even look back but she did, she gave her an expectant look.

"These came on the mail today" Nina said as she pulled back some kind of envelope from her Céline bag.

Paige eyed them until Nina gave her one of them, her expression turned from confusion to almost giddiness and happiness when she realized that it was their wedding invitations.

Aria knew what they were before Nina pulled them out, but she was a little bit skeptical as to why did she made them stop.

Nina was happy to see Paige treating them carefully and smiling as she pulled one of the invitations out of the pocket fold envelope, cautiously reading everything on it.

The invitations were platinum silver shimmer, a lasting lace print, on the center of the page was the invitation itself and on the pocket were the response cards, the enclosure cards, the thank you and place cards and the program and menu. It was so very detailed and so very Nina.

In the top there was an N and a P intertwined in fancy Lucida calligraphy.

Then it said: together with their parents, Nina Weisberger &amp; Paige McCullers, request the honor of your presence as they promise the vows of marriage.

Then it was the date and the place.

Oddly enough she felt weird just reading the formal invitation. She felt like it was missing something but she knew that it had the wrong names on it. When she finished she put it back on the envelope and tried to hand it to Nina who gave her a shake of head and say "No, give it to her".

Paige then saw for who it was at the back of the invitation envelope, and she felt dread creeping onto her, she didn't want to do it as she saw again Emily's name on it.

The other girls in front of her were eyeing her suspiciously for a moment when she didn't move for another minute and Emily decided to finally go she tried to pass the couple but she felt Paige's hand on her arm stopping her.

Paige slowly pulled the invitation towards her until she grabbed it, she did the same thing as Paige she was confused at first but when it dawned on her what it was, her eyes were getting glassy and her lip started to quiver slightly.

She saw Paige a little bit thrown and kind of angry as she mouthed sorry.

"We hope that you could make it, it would be such a sorrow if you weren't there since you've done an amazing job, and since you've become friends again so I don't see any problem with you coming to our wedding" Nina said truthfully as Emily held a little bit tightly her invitation, she was clearly holding herself from crying and running out the door, but it was more painful watching Paige do nothing about it, it was her opportunity to tell her what she really wanted but again she just stood there.

Paige saw the distress in Emily's eyes and went to Nina's side whispering something and finally grabbing her duffel bag and Emily's hands as she lead them outside the studio, ignoring the shouts of 'come back here' and 'I'm sorry' from an angry Nina.

Paige knew that they had only minutes alone before Nina cancelled the appointment and joined them eventually.

"I'm sorry Emily"

"No, I get it Paige, you're getting married, you're sorry for not telling me that you want her and well I'm sorry for what happened back there, I-"Emily said avoiding eye contact.

"This doesn't mean anything yet Emily, I meant what I said when I told you that I don't know what to do, I'm just following plans and I also meant It when I told you that I still love you, I'm just sorry for how Nina is acting that's all" Paige spoke confidently and Emily couldn't resist to let out the breath of air that she didn't knew she was holding and instantly wrapped her arms around Paige's neck. It wasn't the confession she wanted to hear, but it was a close one.

Emily also couldn't resist not to kiss her in that moment and she was about to do it, she leaned forward until only the barest of centimeters were separating their lips until they heard a husky voice behind them "I don't think Nina will appreciate you guys making out outside for the whole world to see"

They both immediately let go of each other and had wide eyes thinking that they got caught, when they saw Spencer not so far behind them giving them a smug smile, they breathed relieved.

Emily closed the space between her and her best friend and engulfed her in a big hug. Paige smile was wider than before as she went for a hug too.

When she let go she saw Nina approaching them and giving her a regretful look that quickly turned into a shocked face when she saw who she was hugging.

Aria went for a hug too ignoring the faces that Nina and Spencer were giving to each other.

Nina step forward to Paige side and grabbed her hand, only saying 'Spencer' and a head nod.

Spencer with a smirking face said "Nina" and then directed her attention to Paige

"We're going to Hanna's tonight, are you coming or are you-?"

"We need to go home, please we need to talk Paige" Nina pleaded interrupting Spencer's question.

Paige debated for a minute but after seeing Nina so worried and sad she declined saying that she will find the time for a get together with them, and so they left in their respective cars.

The four girls watched them as they drove away, all of them sighing.

"I don't like her" Hanna commented.

"Yeah I don't like her too" Spencer supported her.

"Well I do" Aria shot back.

They turned to see the opinion of the last member of their group and they were happy to see that Emily had a smile on her face as she said "She still loves me"


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I don't own most of the characters.**

* * *

"I've missed this" Aria said it, they were on Hanna's couch and floor on the living room, after leaving the dance studio they went to her house, where they just talked and drank and laughed like the good old times.

"It's about time Aria, you've been Nina this Nina that" Hanna said with a pout and the other girls laughed.

Emily just stared at her warning her not to pick up another fight with her. Hanna just shrugged her shoulders and dismissed her look with a wink.

"Well she's pretty great once you get to know her" Aria defended her friend.

"I beg to differ" Spencer snickered, and only Aria gave her a warning look while Hanna and Emily giggled.

"She is, and need I remind you Hanna not so long ago you were this lawyer I met is hot, intelligent and probably better than Spence, so…"

Hanna was rather speechless when she remembered telling Aria about the big client she had, and Aria's smug grin said that she knew she won.

Spencer on the other hand was feeling betrayed and Emily was rather silent.

"Hey Em what's wrong?" Aria asked after seeing her friend quietly sipping her wine that was clutched in her hand.

The other girls turned immediately to her.

Emily was brought out of her thoughts when her friends were staring at her intently "Nothing…its nothing".

"You want to try that again?" Spencer said this time, knowing that nothing was something.

"Aria do you think I should back off?" Emily shyly asked.

"Hell no"

"What Em no"

Hanna and Spencer said at the same time.

But Emily kept staring at Aria who just looked torn. She finally decided to just tell her what she thought.

"No Em, you need this, you need to know that you've done everything you could to have one part of your life back, and you're doing it. I don't know how will it end but I know that at the end you will finally have your closure with or without her, I just don't like that you guys are playing with Nina, it's not her fault and she doesn't deserve it" Aria sighed and Emily immediately regretted her actions, Aria saw the conflict in her friend's eyes and she grabbed her hand, she gave her a light squeeze and an encouraging nod.

Emily pulled her up to her and gave her a firm hug, seconds later both were engulfed by their other friends in a group hug, every single one of them enjoying the moment until Spencer decided to say, while still hugging them "FYI I'm a better lawyer than Nina"

That brought her a smack in both of her shoulders by Hanna and Aria while Emily laughed.

"Way to ruin a moment Spence" Aria pointed out.

"Oh god I'm turning into Hanna" Spencer mocked and that earned her another punch in her shoulder, and a little pout on Hanna's end.

"So did it work Em?" Hanna refocused the attention to the girl who instantly blushed when she remembered.

"I hope so" Emily imagined it went well, if Paige went out to see her instead of staying with Nina then she was slightly sure that it was what she will hold on to for the future.

"If anything I think it went perfect, she was all over you Em" Spencer smirked at her when she recalled what she saw outside the dance studio.

"What now?" They were wondering.

"She needs time, I guess" Emily cautiously said.

It was something she understood, well she tried to understand, but time was running short, the wedding was fast approaching.

"Maybe what you need Em is to be there for her, to have a day without reminding her that she needs to pick, you know just a day without worrying about expectations that you both have, you need to remind her how good you were together and how much you love her" Aria said while two nodding heads followed by.

"So I have to make her fall in love with me again?" Emily asked somewhat unsure of the approach.

"No, she clearly still loves you Em, what you both need is a little bit of a reminder of what you had, and some assurance that you're not going anywhere and that whatever happens you don't want to lose her, even if she chooses her you still have to show her that a friendship would work, if that's what you want of course, you still need a proper closure" Spencer responded.

"I don't want to lose her, so I could learn to be just her friend, but you're right we need a moment just like we had tonight...but without the pressure of a decision" Emily expressed.

"So we have, well you have 3 weeks to do it" Hanna pointed out as she saw the calendar on her IPad.

Emily got crestfallen.

"You know Toby is coming on Friday for the fourth of July, maybe we could do something with Paige and everybody on Saturday" Spencer gave the idea.

"But Paige would likely spend it with her" Emily told them sadly.

Aria saw her friend for a moment be very excited by the mention of having a little bit of hope to spend some time this upcoming weekend with Paige, but then sad because of the fault in their plans, so she couldn't leave her felling sad so she mentioned what she knew, it wasn't like she was betraying Nina or even Emily for not telling her sooner but it was a technicality.

"Nina has to travel to San Francisco this Thursday for her dress fitting appointment and to see her other bridesmaids, Paige decided to stay" As soon as she said it their friends were smiling.

Hanna was already tapping something on her IPad for the things that she was planning at last minute, but she suddenly stopped and watched Aria carefully.

"Why didn't you tell us before?" Hanna inquired. Aria was dreading this part as she told them the part she omitted on purpose.

"I didn't tell you 'cause she wants me to go with her, she wants me to help her with the dress and to meet her best friends, and since I'm on the bridal party I couldn't say no" She looked guilty for leaving them, and Hanna was sure to point it out.

"You're leaving US!?" Hanna exclaimed, and Spencer supported her "This will be the first fourth of July that we could spend together after 4 years Aria, just tell her that you can't"

Aria didn't want to fight them so she remained in silence, thinking what she will do. Emily finally decided to say something when the silence was no longer bearable.

"Aria if you want to go then go, but it would be nice if you could stay with us, you could ask Nina if it's necessary or just explain it to Paige maybe she could help you lessen the fight if she doesn't want you to stay, no matter what, we understand" She watched the other two with a menacing glare, just for them to stop their argument, they both relented at the end.

"I want to stay with you guys, I will explain it to Nina tomorrow" Aria finally decided.

Hanna just squealed in happiness and began typing again on her IPad.

"Okay, what are you doing? You clearly have a plan in mind" Spencer worriedly said as she saw Hanna with a frown and smile at the same time.

"Well if Nina has to go to San Francisco without Paige then she will be celebrating with Abbie, so we can invite them to come here and you will have the whole night with her and maybe the morning" Hanna winked at her, she was pleased when Emily acknowledge 'her' plan with a smile and a tentative nod.

"I think that's a great idea Han, how did you ever come up with that" Spencer laughed when Hanna threw her a cushion.

"What I'm saying is that you can get a proper conversation this time, make her remember the things you did that made her happy when you were together…then you convince her not to marry Nina"

Emily's eyes lit up when she began to think about the possibility of having Paige all to herself in a manner of speaking. She was brought back out of her thoughts when her three best friends were staring at her. "What?" she asked worriedly.

"Shouldn't you be calling Paige right now?"

Emily grinned at her friends and nodded, "I'll call her now" she said, she went outside for a little bit of privacy, she didn't want to let her friends see her if Paige declined the invitation so she could have the moment to compose herself before returning to them but if she did accept then she would also need to have a few minutes to enjoy it, so she pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed Paige's number, her insides were squirming at the excitement and the nervousness that she felt just by calling her.

* * *

Paige was driving slower than normal, she had a lot on her mind but she had a certain girl in her mind ant it wasn't her fiancée, she should have felt guilty and the worst girlfriend ever and she did, but somehow it was Emily who made her think that what she did was valid.

She didn't want to get home this time, she normally will be driving fast to get there first, she always smiled when she watched her girlfriend arrive a little bit later and she would be expecting her near the door, then she would kiss her properly and they would have a perfect night just the two of them, but now the night was nowhere near perfect.

A fight was ensured if she arrived earlier than expected, so that´s why she took her sweet time getting home.

When she was near the house, fear came over her when she saw not only one car but 3 cars on her driveway, she felt anxious when she knew which car belong to whom.

The only good thing about getting out of the car and going inside, was seeing her mom.

She took a deep breath and went inside.

She was soon greeted by Nina's parents and her parents as well and Nina nowhere to be found, she let out a sigh of relieve when she didn't see her, but her relieve was cut short when her father spoke first.

"Hello Paige, so glad you could join us" Nick McCullers said with a forced smile and that's why she knew she was in trouble, so they knew something.

She hugged both set of parents. She tried to leave them for a while to gather some of her thoughts and to be alone but with no avail she went to her room followed by her father shortly after.

"What happened?" Nick asked in a serious tone and Paige just shrugged pretending that she didn't know what he was asking.

"Nina came in, in tears and as soon as she saw us she apologized and dismissed our worries saying that she was going to make us something to eat and she told her parents that she wanted to be alone, so tell me, what happened?"

Paige felt guilty for how she treated her fiancée and she truly regretted doing something so wrong and so selfish, even though at the moment it felt right and perfect.

"We had a disagreement an hour ago and we still haven't talked but we will after you leave" she expressed the obvious without telling him what was the fight about, hoping that he would accept her vague response.

Her father eyed her suspiciously but let it slide this time "You better fix it Paige, once we leave I want you to talk to her ok," Nick warned her and Paige began nodding "and if it was your fault then you better make up to her good" Nick said with a wink implying how she needed to apologize, that only made Paige blush and half shout "Dad" with a swat on his arm.

She led him to the living room again, and after some time she excused herself from the small talk that Hayley and her mother were trying to engage her in and went to the kitchen where Nina was busy trying to make what it looked like a whole four course meal.

She approached her quietly, Nina wasn't facing the door so she didn't see Paige entering not until she felt a kiss on her temple and then strong arms wrapped around her midsection from her right side, at first she was leaning into the touch but then she remembered what happened and she pushed Paige a little.

"We need to talk" Nina said sternly.

"I know"

"I'm tired of having this conversation Paige"

"I know" she repeated. Nina looked more impatient and annoyed at that answer.

"Well I'm glad to know you know Paige" she huffed.

Paige rolled her eyes and that made Nina even angrier than before.

"Look Nina I don't want to fight right now, not when our parents are in the other room, I just wanted to have a little time out and pretend that we weren't fighting but I think that's not going to happen right?"

Now it was Nina's turn to roll her eyes and let out a sigh "You think? How do you expect me to pretend in front of our parents that you didn't betrayed me and treated me like I was the bad guy in a situation that you knew it was going to happen eventually"

"But you could've handled it differently, she didn't deserve it" Paige exclaimed.

"Why are you defending her again, she did deserve it, she deserves to know that you're getting married Paige despite her hoping that you don't" when Nina started to raise her voice, Paige's mom came to the kitchen followed by Nina's mother.

"Girls you should keep it down, your fathers are worried, and we just wanted to have a peaceful family night" Hayley said, and Paige's mom Carrie supported her.

"You can talk after we leave but please let's have this dinner in peace" both girls nodded ashamed that the argument got nearly out of hand.

Carrie grabbed Paige's hand softly and forced her to sit on the living room whispering a 'later' on her ear when she left her with her father and her future father in law who was giving her a sympathetic look, Paul knew how difficult her daughter was when she was mad and thinking that she was right.

Her mother opted to get back to the kitchen where Nina was getting a lecture for her behavior.

After 20 minutes later dinner was served. A strong and awkward silence fell upon them, no one tried to lift it for another ten minutes, only casually mentioning how great the food was.

Paul being the most uncomfortable one decided to break the silence "How's the planning going?"

"Why don't you ask Paige, daddy" Nina replied watching Paige squirm in her seat. Paul turned to look at Paige who was currently at the other end of the table.

"It's going great, since Nina is in charge like she always wanted, but minus the tactless way of delivering the wedding invitations" Paige snarked back.

"It's normal when you don't want the person to attend the wedding" Nina replied instantly, that got several nods of agreement.

"But you don't have to invite them, it's your day after all, you get to decide who attends and who doesn't" Nick backed the statement.

"Well in this particular case dad, we didn't agreed on it yet and despite that Nina took the liberty to decide again, and now she is saying that she didn't want to do it"

Nina was about to reply when both Paul and Nick said 'enough'.

Nina apologized to Paige first and then their parents and Paige followed. The room felt into a normal conversation after that and suddenly it turned to have a discussion that Paige didn't seem to care. They were discussing about the following weeks and what to do about their current living situation, the parents wanted the future married couple to move out of the apartment and to buy a proper house, as always Nina agreed with the change and Paige didn't, she liked the apartment and she thought it was fine given that it was only the two of them, but her future was already planned for her so she couldn't object.

She was pulled out of her inner thoughts by the vibration of her phone and she immediately perked up by the name of the caller.

She made up an excuse for leaving the table, stating that it was 'work' and went to the hallway, far away from the dining room and closer to her bedroom.

After five rings Paige's picked up, she seemed eager to talk to "Emily hey"

"Hi Paige" Emily managed to say. It was just two simple words and Paige was already smiling from ear to ear.

"Is everything okay?" Paige asked, she wasn't sure why Emily called her but she was very happy nonetheless.

"Yeah, yeah I just wanted to ask you something but are you okay?"

Paige sighed after hearing the hushed tones from down the hallway.

"Now that you called better…umm my parents are here, we're having a family dinner"

"So I suspect it's not going well?" Emily asked.

"Actually it's going great as always" Paige lied she didn't know why but she continued "My dad and Paul are insisting on some things for… let's say my future and I didn't want to hear it anymore so you saved me"

"You're welcome" Emily chuckled even though she was apprehensive because of the tone of Paige's dismissal when she tried to tell her that everything was fine, she continued "I had a really good time today"

"Yeah me too, who would've thought that we still got it" Paige laughed.

"Talk about you, I knew I always 'got it'" Emily playfully snickered.

"Yeah tell that to my feet, I think you stepped on me like four times, so next time I have to be more careful and save them from you" Paige chuckled.

Emily was going to respond back when she heard Nina's voice over the phone.

"Save what from whom?" Nina stood mere inches from Paige, having a worn out look in her face. She was annoyed and angry when Paige left the table so suddenly with a smile and relieved face, and she got even madder when she heard who she was talking to and even laughing at some point.

Paige tried to cover the name of the caller and put her hand on the speaker "It's nothing important"

"So if it's not important would you mind getting off the phone, our parents are trying to have a serious conversation about our future and you're ruining it, I know we are nowhere near fixing our problem so we will have the talk but we'll have it after, for now can you please come back and help me with dessert?" Nina said with finality, so she had no room to keep continuing the call with Emily. Nina retreating back was near the kitchen door when Paige continued the conversation with Emily.

"I'm sorry but I think I have to go" Paige said with a long sigh and then she remembered that Emily wanted to ask her something and she hadn't yet "You were going to ask me something Em?"

Emily let her own long sigh before replying "I wanted to see if you would like to come on Saturday to Hanna's house, you know for the fourth of July celebration, Toby is finally coming and we invited Abbie too, and Hanna's making Caleb cook everything like for a small town seriously"

"I don't know if it is a good idea Emil-"Paige began to decline the invitation when Emily intervened

"Just think about it, please"

"I really don't know" Paige huffed impatiently

"Please" Emily pleaded one more time and pouted even if Paige couldn't see her but Paige assumed that she was pouting so finally she relented with a smile.

"Okay, I will let you know…I really have to go now"

"Yeah, good night Paige"

"Bye Emily" Paige smiled at the end of the phone call, she rested her head in the nearest wall for a while, she wanted to accept the invite but if she did then there was no going back, whatever happens it may as well be her last decision.

After that she couldn't ignore the facts.

"Was that Emily?" Paige mom asked, she didn't want to intrude in her private call but she was worried that Nina and Paige were still fighting, but she heard a whole different thing.

"Yeah" Paige couldn't keep it any longer so she went for a hug and her mom welcomed her in a strong embrace. Paige breathed out heavily and whispered "I don't know what to do Mom"

Carrie slowly put her daughter at arm's length and grabbed her shoulders softly "You don't know what to do about what honey, about dinner, about your fight with Nina, about Emily, about the wedding? You have to be more specific darling"

"I've been thinking about whether I should get married or not, and I may have come to a decision but I don't know if it is the right one, I just want to be sure that I'm making the right choice"

"You will never know until you do it Paige, what would help you to know?" her mom asked, studying her face, she wanted the truth from her daughter.

"I don't know…um Emily invited me this weekend to spend some time with her, the girls, Toby and Caleb, and with Nina going away to San Francisco maybe I could go…I don't know yet"

Her mom frowned and looked at Paige hesitantly before nodding, "if that's what you need then do it, but I want you to know that I will be here no matter what" She kissed Paige's forehead and signaled the dining room where everybody where expecting them.

After their parents left, Paige decided to clean up the kitchen before going to their room to confront Nina, she was dreading the conversation that surprisingly they already had in the past but now it was coming for like the tenth time for the last month.

She busied herself trying to scratch the minimum speck of dust until the kitchen looked like new.

It was past midnight and she was still on one of the kitchen counters nursing a drink and this time her drink of choice was tequila. She poured down one last shot down her throat, it still burned her but it gave her an instant warm feeling inside.

Now it was close to one in the morning when she got the courage to enter her bedroom. Nina was still up, lying on her side of the bed and typing something on her phone, when she heard Paige enter she put her phone down and stared at her.

Paige decided to change to her pj's and was fumbling with the clasp of her bra, more like trying to find the clasp that it was on the front but given her situation she grew more frustrated and that made Nina giggle softly and then letting out a full laugh, she got up from the bed and walked towards Paige, she unclasped Paige's bra from the front. She pulled out a shirt and with great effort she put it on Paige.

When Paige was finally dressed for bed and already snuggling onto Nina's side of the bed, Nina didn't have another choice than to scoot over to her respective side and turned the lights out. She tried to accustom Paige's face even through the darkness but she failed, it was so dark, she heard the familiar deep and even breathing of her fiancée signaling that she was already asleep.

Nina cupped Paige warm cheek as her thumb stroked soothing circles. She felt her relax under her touch, and felt guilty that her own girlfriend was falling asleep stressed out.

"I'm sorry for everything Paige, I wish I didn't knew how this will end but I do and I don't want to lose you, you said that I made you believe in love again so I just hope you held onto that, and if I'm being honest I think you made me believe, I love you Paige and I'm going to hold onto that" Nina whispered as she wiped the single tear on her chin.

She then turned her back to Paige and fell asleep instantly, unaware that Paige was now the girl who had tears in her eyes, she wasn't asleep, she just didn't wanted to have another fight, so she pretended, now having heard all of that she couldn't be more sure about her decision.

Sat alone in her office, Paige rested her elbows on either side of her small tumbler of coffee, a great start after she woke up having a small headache from the alcohol she inherited the night before.

She began to rub her temples from the impeding headache that was about to take over again now this time because of another sleepless night, and for the thoughts that clouded her mind.

Paige didn't knew how much more she could take, her mind seemed constantly clouded by a million thoughts but truth to be told only of them was truly getting to her.

Emily Fields.

She starts to think about the way she smiles, the way she laughs, the way she dances and the way that their lips fit perfectly, and of course she thinks about how much she had missed her and how much she thinks she still loves her, thinks about the perfect moment they had the day before.

Pulling out her phone she searches for Emily's number and when she finds it she decides at last minute she would only text her with a 'No', when she sees how cryptic and creepy her decline for Saturday was, she sends another one, this one saying 'Sorry, I wanted to tell you that I can't go this Saturday, maybe another time".

It was the right choice, the more she thinks about it the more she's sure what she wants, she is even more sure when she remembers the night before where she heard Nina whisper her love for her, she sees a photo on her computer screen, is just a picture of Nina, then she sees the photo that's perched on the other side of the desk, it´s a photo of them, Nina and her big blue eyes and her smile and the way she´s laughing at something that Paige said at the moment while Paige with a big smile on her face was telling her something funny, and that's when the picture was taken without them even knowing, thanks to Aria who captured the moment.

She could see her eyes and the way they screamed how happy she was and how much in love they were as she watches Nina too. Now she thinks about Nina and the good times they had, she thinks about a time when she was so in love and she couldn't wait to marry her, she thinks how much she loves her too.

Sighing, Paige hopes that she's making the right decision but when she feels something that tells her that she's wrong she drops her hands and her head onto the desk in defeat.


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I don't own most of the characters.**

* * *

After sending her response Paige left her phone on her drawer and began to work. Later that day she went home, Nina was waiting for her with her favorite dish and wine.

They sat in silence for a moment when Paige broke the silence first. "This is so good" Paige moaned at the bite she took.

"I'm glad you like it" Nina smiled warmly at her but it was clear that her smile didn't reach her eyes. When Paige finished she took both dishes and went to the dishwasher. Nina followed and helped her, they didn't say a word, when they finished cleaning the kitchen, they retreated to their bedroom.

Nina took both glasses of wine with her and handed on of the glasses to Paige who opted to sit in the one night stand sleeper sofa that was in the corner of the room. Nina instead of sitting on the bed or besides Paige turned to the ensuite to begin with her nightly routine, when she finished she picked up her glass and handed it to Paige who had an empty glass already as she still remained in the sofa with a pensive look.

When she grabbed the glass from Nina she eyed her curiously "are you trying to get me drunk" she chuckled at the thought, Nina just rolled her eyes. "Why is it working?" Paige laughed this time and took a small sip. She patted the spot next to her.

Nina approached the sofa slowly and sat at the other side, Paige noticed the space that remained between them. She glanced at Nina who was looking at everything in the room except her. Paige decided to take her hand and pulled her towards her, Nina then turned her whole body towards Paige.

"Do I still need to go to San Fran?" she asked timidly.

"Why wouldn't you go?" Paige seemed utterly confused by the question.

"I don't see the point if you're breaking up with me" Nina replied dejectedly.

"What! No Nin I don't want that" Paige sincerely told her "we had a disagreement Nina"

"Yeah, but it's not the first time that we had this discussion Paige" she looked at her expectantly, hoping that she knew what she was talking about, or better yet who she was referring to.

"I know" Paige looked down feeling at fault there, "but I'm here aren't I?"

"You are but, you've changed"

"It's that a bad thing?" Paige addressed.

"It is when it looks like you don't want this as much as you did before or when you don't seem to love me anymore" Nina's eyes wavered and few tears fell. Paige's heart clenched "I do love you Nin and I do want to marry you" Paige expressed reassuringly, but Nina didn't believe her completely, she knew that Paige loved her but maybe she wasn't in love with her anymore, she let it go for the moment.

Paige tentatively reached forward to claim a kiss, it was sweet and it definitely it took her breath away, she felt content for having what they had back, or just a glimpse of what they used to have.

Paige stood up and went to the bed and plopped down, when Nina was in the bathroom, she changed quickly to her usual night attire which was just a tank top and her panties, Nina on the other hand always wore silk nightgowns. As soon as Nina entered the covers, Paige grabbed her and cuddled into her side.

Nina laughed when Paige let out a content sigh.

"So when are you leaving me?" Paige pouted and Nina's heart melted thinking what Paige thought not so long ago, that they resembled their old selves.

"I'm leaving on Thursday, Aria won't be coming with me" she revealed, Paige looked up with a worried and confused stare.

"Why? Is everything ok?"

"Yeah its fine" she kissed away her worries before adding "she wanted to stay here with her friends for the fourth of July"

"And you let her?" Paige questioned, like it was rare that Nina let her.

Nina felt offended by it so she explained "of course I did, she doesn't need my permission Paige"

Paige looked guilty before responding "Yeah I know that, but won't you need her to try on her dress and to see yours?" she knew how important this weekend was for Nina.

"It's fine, I know that she misses her friends, she's been with me most of the time and I think they were giving her a hard time about it, so it's okay" she smiled reassuringly as to not worry her more.

But Paige was already worried, and she wasn't to let it go easily.

"Well they're a really tight group but they can't do that, maybe if I tell them something, I don't know like tell them that you need her and it's more important"

"Paige it's okay really, don't worry, I think she wants to stay" Paige let out a defeated sigh.

"She also told me, well asked me to convince you to go with her, and If you want to then you should go, I don't want you to stay here alone but you could always go to my dad's party, but it's up to you Paige"

Paige seemed to consider it but she says 'I will go to your dads party' softly at the end. Nina looked satisfied, she was afraid that Paige wanted to go but when she said she wasn't going she felt relieved and that's how she felt asleep.

* * *

Thursday came and Paige went to the airport with Nina.

They spent the following days after their talk together, doing things for the wedding, they got the chance to practice the dance until it was perfect, even if Paige was only focusing on making Nina happy she couldn't feel the connection she had with Emily when they danced or just feel what she felt when she kissed her, the kiss they had didn't leave her mind but that was the first time after so many days that she thought about Emily.

When she returned home, she let her mind wander to the days she spent with Emily and unfortunately to when she was going to tell her. For now she was still getting married. At the back of her mind she knew why she was still marrying Nina but what she hadn't accepted was the fact that she was afraid, afraid of her feelings for Emily and the inevitable broken heart if she gave her and herself a chance to be together again. She knew she was taking the easy way but it was the safest and what many people told her it was right.

Saturday came and Paige kept being busy with simple things, she tried to ignore what her mind was telling her and that was to go to her friend's house, to confront Emily and to take the small problem away, but it wasn't that simple, it was never simple, at the end she decided not to go, she kept her promise not to go, at least she succeeded for an hour or two.

So Paige was getting ready when she received the sixth call in the last five minutes, this time it was Abbie who was calling her, the other five were from the girls and Caleb, she forgot that Abbie was with them so she picked up, "Why aren't you here Paige, you promised to think about it, and it wasn't a difficult decision to make. You big idiot get your ass over here now" Abbie angrily yelled.

Paige just chuckled and that seemed to anger Abbie more, she had to do damage control pronto.

"Hi Abbie, how are you, I'm good thanks for asking, by the way I'm not going, well I can't, my dad is expecting me at Paul's house. I hope you have a good time, say hi to everybody, Bye" she talked quickly and ended the call the same way, not giving the chance to let Abbie tell her how wrong she was. She let out a defeated sight and continued dressing, keeping a certain brunette out of her head.

* * *

"So she's not coming" Abbie told to the group, after Paige ended the call abruptly.

Everyone but Hanna were sad, they wanted to spend time with Paige specially Emily who stood from the couch and went to the bathroom without a word.

Spencer got distracted from watching her friend leave heartbroken to seeing Hanna with a confident smile.

"Why are you so happy? Abbie said she's not coming and now Emily is crushed"

Hanna just turned to look at her and said "No, she's coming I know, we just have to wait"

"I hope you're right" Spencer voice faltered, worried about her friend's intuition, but she somehow knew that Hanna was right.

When Emily returned to the living room, everyone turned to look at her with a hopeful expression in their eyes, she heard Hanna and smiled at her confident admission, she wanted to believe her but until then she wanted to enjoy her time with her friends not worrying about if Paige will come or not.

Time passed and they were seated already finishing their meals, Emily offered to make dessert, assuring most of her friends that on her spare time and after her hangover days she picked up some books about cooking and had personal classes with her mother.

Now she knew how to make empanadas and mostly any type of dessert. Everyone's disapproval was removed when Emily reminded Hanna that she cooked for her an earthshattering cake the other day, and it was vouched by her blonde pregnant friend who had a little bit of drool coming out of her mouth thinking about the perfect pastry that Emily made and now she was craving whatever Emily decided to do.

* * *

Paige let out a sigh and continued to dress up, when she finished, she grabbed her car keys and her cellphone and went out the door and to the party of her future father in law. When she arrived she greeted everyone in the room, them being Nina's family and some colleagues from work, and her parents and their friends.

She wasn't bored but she wasn't comfortable either, she preferred to be with Nina in this type of parties, she surely missed her. She texted her to see how she was, she knew her friends were going to surprise her with a bachelorette party and so she didn't worry when she got no response back.

It was eight o'clock when her mother finally acknowledged her "Sweetheart why are you here?" Paige laughed, she was asking herself the same thing.

"I don't know" She truthfully answered.

"Don't worry about dad or Paul, if you want to go, I could tell them that you had a headache or something"

Paige seemed to ponder her options, "Mom, I know what I want but I'm afraid that if I go there I could change my mind, and that could be definitely the case"

"Maybe if you have to change your mind then you haven't made the right decision honey, maybe you have to go there with an open mind, just have a good time without thinking about it, you're going to see your friends, you're not only going to see Emily" She voiced what Paige was really thinking.

Her mom was right, so Paige went out the door unnoticed, when she reached her car she fumbled with her car keys and the alarm went off, attracting standing viewers on the balcony, one of them was her father who eyed her warily, raising one of his eyebrows and giving her a questioning look.

Paige just shrugged off and entered the car, ignoring the shouts of 'Paige' from her father. On a red light she picked up her phone and ignored the miss calls and several texts she had, she went straight to text Abbie saying 'I'm going' and minutes later she received 'About time, get over here now!' she smiled and drove a little bit faster and putting her phone away in the glove compartment, now she felt confident about going.

When she arrived she was nervous as she rang the doorbell she did it once so she was worried that nobody heard her but after a couple of seconds the door opened and there it stood Emily in all her gloriousness with a tight black dress that left absolutely nothing to the imagination and a surprised face after seeing Paige, it was immediately replaced by pure happiness.

Emily smiled with satisfaction at Paige's flushed cheeks and inability to speak when she opened the door. The reaction that she got from Paige was what she expected or what Hanna expected when she handed Emily that dress, she knew somehow Paige was coming.

"Hello Paige" Emily said with a grin.

"H-hi" Paige said weakly as she went from staring at Emily with barely concealed shock, hunger and longing and attempting to look away and appear unaffected.

Emily grinned and walked away, ensuring there was a little sway in her hips, just for the fun of it as she turn back to tell Paige to hang up the coat and to come to the backyard where everyone was or just to come to the kitchen where she was cooking something.

"Okay," Paige squeaked. She took her coat off and put it the hanger, she tried to steady her breathing before going to the kitchen, she was wearing a dark blue dress, she wasn't much of a dress type of girl but she had to wear one to Paul's party, over the years and being with Nina most of her wardrobe changed thanks to her, she was now more of a business casual type of girl.

The dress was modest, it came down to just above her knees and it had thicker straps that she didn't need to worry about slipping. And most of all it seemed right.

Few minutes later Paige went to the kitchen and asked Emily "Do you need any help with something? I'm sorry for coming at the last minute"

Emily turned around to reply but the words seemed to get stuck as she saw Paige in front of her wearing the dark blue dress complete with black heels, they weren't big but it gave her a little bit of advantage between them, she was beautiful and it was Emily's turn to blush and Paige's turn to feel smug.

"Emily?" Paige tried again, as she had no response the first time, just knowing that she had also made an impact.

Emily shook her head and finally found her words "Paige, I'm glad you're here in time for desert I made it, I was just going to bring this to everybody" she said as she grabbed the tiramisu and signaled Paige to come with her.

Paige smiled and nodded and began to follow Emily to the backyard, she not so subtlety watched more like hawked Emily's back. She was pulled out of her daydream that followed by a pair of hands on her arm, and soon she was enveloped in a hug.

Spencer was the first one to see her arrival and immediately went to greet her but when she saw the exchange between Emily and Paige in the kitchen she went back and waited for them to come, when they did Spencer did notice the not subtle way that Paige was admiring Emily and smiled, she went to hug her friend as to save her from the embarrassment she would have felted if she was caught by any other person in their group.

"You're drooling" Spencer whispered Paige blushed instantly and dip her head in a way that only children did when they got caught. She shoved Spencer a little and returned the hug seconds later.

"I'm not" She countered back and they both shared a laugh.

"I'm happy you decided to come" Paige simply smiled.

Everybody turned to see the two girls who were whispering and laughing all by themselves. When they finished with the pleasantries Paige went to hug the rest of her friends.

They returned to the Napa pub set and the only seat available was next to Emily. Not five minutes passed when Hanna began to drill Paige.

"What made you change your mind?"

"I wanted to be with everybody Han" Paige smiled, dismissing the question easily.

"Or you just wanted to have your own bachelorette party with Emily" Hanna winked and that got her a 'HANNA' from everybody.

Paige had a blush on her cheeks, as well as Emily and her redden cheeks.

Paige decided to laugh it off and not turn the conversation or the insinuation into something awkward and more tense.

"You caught me, isn't that right Em?" she said with bump in Emily's shoulders, Emily decided to give her a smile and a small nod in camaraderie, even if she was feeling the warm and accelerating bump in her heart.

"So how's the wedding going?" Toby politely asked.

Everyone turned to look at him when Spencer elbowed him on the ribs, giving him a pointed look. Paige knew better than to let it pass as an innocent question, she knew Toby was very protective of Spencer and Emily, the latter being the first to believe him. Everything stood still, and everyone now expected her answer.

"It's-"

"Emily this is amazing" Hanna interrupted Paige train of thought, she didn't want to ruin the perfect day that they been having.

Most of the table let out a sigh of relieve, and now thanked Hanna for her constant light. Everyone nodded in confirmation of the statement, letting sounds of pleasure at the dessert.

"I didn't knew you could cook like this"

"Yeah, remember those empanadas?"

"Those were dark days and we agreed that we would never bring that up again" Emily tried to look stern and everyone laughed except for Paige and Abbie who didn't get the joke, the last remains of the dessert were swept away by Hanna and the conversation flooded more naturally.

* * *

By 10 o'clock everybody was outside, Hanna was curled up with Caleb as well as Spencer and Toby in the Avery Island resin patio sectional set, and Aria and Abbie in the set of the coconut grove sofa and that left Emily and Paige searching for the perfect spot, the only spot left was one of the armchairs of the grove sofa. They were standing awkwardly next to each other, given that neither wanted to sit down. Paige didn't notice the pointed looks that Hanna was throwing at Emily nor the signal for her to go to the terrace with Paige.

"Would you like to go upstairs?" Emily whispered to Paige, who took a big gulp and watched her dubiously and with a raised eyebrow, Emily saw the hesitance posture of Paige and perceived that she got the wrong idea, she snorted "get your mind out of the gutter" she said simply and Paige blushed profusely.

"We could watch the fireworks better up there, would you come with me?" She asked again, getting anxious, when she saw Paige nod she took her hand and lead her to the staircase that was at the side of the house, she rolled her eyes when she saw the smirks on everybody's faces, and the laugh that accompanied the smirks.

When they arrived, Paige smiled at the beautiful view, the rooftop was more like a mix of a roof terrace and a greenhouse. The first thing she noticed was that it had sliding glass frames at the sides and at the front and behind them was the staircase and a wall that connected the greenhouse with Hanna's office, she figured, and it had an adaptable roof that could be opened in the summer and closed in the winter along with the sliding frames.

The whole space was covered at the sides with a mix of evergreens, flowers and spiral junipers, and in the middle it had a brown cove lounge set.

"This is amazing, Hanna did a wonderful job here" Paige said while she admired the view, Emily nodded and hummed in agreement, she was nervous about being in such a romantic setting with Paige, and it was hard for her not to step any boundaries that Paige seemed to establish by standing at the other side of the cove set that was in the middle of the room, now it was arranged as a large bed, Hanna usually sets it up as a normal seating but knowing that at some point she was going to suggest her and Paige to go upstairs then she set it up that way.

Emily followed her and stood right beside her, she flinched when the first fireworks were on the air, that caused a chuckle and Paige wrapping one arm over her shoulders, she was smiling as she watched the millions of fireworks on the air, watching different shapes and how they formed an amazing spectacle but she has seen it for the last 2 years and she wanted Emily to see it, she felt her staring at her rather than the show and she was correct when she turned and Emily was blushing and watching her.

"You're missing it" Paige whispered, her face was close to Emily's.

"I know I have a better view"

Paige laughed and dipped her head not wanting Emily to see the small blush that appeared on her face, which turned Emily into a happy mess, her heart fluttered wildly when she saw the head dip and she wished she could see it more often.

"That was so cheesy Em" Emily began laughing at herself causing Paige to laugh with her.

Those moments, those moments Emily thought were worth the pain.

"So…"

"So…"

They both continued to stare at each other, not minding the fireworks anymore, Paige eventually dropped her arm to her sides and they were face to face their bodies angled at the same point which was the other's body.

"Do you seriously want me at your wedding?" Emily mumbled, bitterness creeping into her tone.

"Don't" Paige snapped "Don't go there"

"Why not? Because I don't seem to get you Paige, one minute you tell me you love me, and the other you're handing me your wedding invitation! One day it seems that you want to be with me and then you go home and the next day you want to be with Nina" Emily didn't intend to get to this point, but she was frustrated with the pace that Paige was taking with her decision, she felt whiplashed every time.

"I love you but I don't want to ok" The words slipped out of Paige's mouth before she could stop them.

The words stung for each of them. It was something that neither of them had wanted to hear or say for that matter. Up until this point Paige hadn't even admitted it to herself, and now there it was, up in the air for both of them to deal with.

Emily was dumbstruck, she knew that Paige was in denial in terms of everything, but maybe she was wrong and Paige wanted to get married and not deal with her anymore. But fear was the main thing in her mind when Paige said those things, she knew Paige was afraid of loving her, she was afraid that Emily could hurt her again, and now she knew that Aria was right, she had to show her how much she loved her and how good they were when they were together and even when they were 'friends'.

"You haven't decided yet, have you? Emily whispered softly.

"No" Paige hesitated, she knew she should've told her, but seeing her with hope in her eyes, she couldn't do that to her.

"I know that you're afraid, I am too, of losing you, I don't want to live without you in my life, I don't understand the position you're in but I understand that is not an easy one, I just hope that you know how much I miss you and how much I still love you, you know don't you?

Paige nodded she had a small smile on, and Emily felt relieved.

"It's getting late Em, we should probably go" Paige was getting a little bit cold and nervous to be around Emily, she didn't want to end up doing something she knew it was going to happen if they stayed there again like what happened in the dance studio.

"Or we could stay here" Emily's voice was laced with sadness.

"We…I can't come on" Paige knew that if she had stayed she would probably regret doing what she was about to, and that was kissing Emily, it wouldn't been regret for kissing her it would have been regret of stringing her along and the plan she already had that truth to be told it was resolving, with each passing moment with her, and of course the fact that she would be cheating again, and she didn't want to be that type of girl and she didn't want Emily to be her secret, she knew she was making a mistake and she probably had to enjoy the moment and let go of the things that was expected from her and just to be happy but without crossing any boundaries, and now knowing that Emily was being sincere and telling her how much she loved her, well her resolve of marrying Nina was dissipating by the minute, but that didn't take the right to cheat on her fiancée.

"Please" Emily pleaded but Paige was already going to the stairs without glancing back. "This could be like a time-out. A time-out to see what we have without anyone or anything around us, for you to see what we have"

Paige hadn't even made it to the first stair before she felt a pressure on her arm. She turned her head this time. Dark brown eyes were glazed with sadness and desperation and something that looked like hope as Emily pulled her back towards her.

The charged air surged around them, now it was thick and heavy, filled with the same electricity that was causing Paige's heart to thrash against the inside of her ribcage as well as Emily's.

Emily bit her lip, reaching up to slide one hand through Paige's long hair. Her breath hitched in her chest before she pulled Paige's mouth towards her own.

Paige's eyes fluttered closed at the instant touch of their lips, as she felt Emily's lips slowly and tentatively pressing against hers. It was the tiniest of kisses, the tiniest of gestures that they shared so far and yet it rocketed through the both of them. With her fingers tangled through Paige's hair, Emily allowed herself to pull Paige's mouth closer, grazing at her lips with the tip of her tongue until they cautiously parted and allowed it to slide through.

The kiss became deeper and needy and Paige heard herself sigh into her ex-girlfriend mouth. Her hands reached forward slipping beneath around Emily's waist so that she could hold her impossibly close to her. Emily sighed, dragging her tongue more firmly over Paige's. Her heart was bumping wildly by now and the arousal she had come in full force.

Emily knew without question that if she had stop kissing her, if she ever had to stop this, she would be forever broken, so she tangled her finger more tightly through Paige's hair and moaned, pulling her closer, relishing the feeling of Paige's strong fingers digging into her back. Now wishing she didn't wear a dress and instead a shirt that would have become easy to discharge.

A heat was building inside Paige's stomach and she took a step away from the staircase so that she could walk Emily backwards until her shoulders thudded against the only wall that was situated on the back. She heard what sounded like a giggle from Emily's lips.

It was quickly smothered by a groan as Paige raked her nails down her back, crumpling her dress, she moved them gradually lower until they were cupped around her lower back.

The warmth inside Paige spread outwards, invading her extremities, and the only thing she could think of doing to satisfy it was to push Emily harder against the wall, curling her tongue around the raven haired beauty and then gently nibbling at the tip of it when it attempted to pass through her own lips in response.

Emily suddenly dragged her mouth away from Paige, almost laughing at the disappointed whimper that followed, feeling smug for succeeding in what she wanted, and all she wanted was Paige to kiss her like that, to want her like that but, before Paige could even process what she was doing, Emily pulled back on Paige's auburn hair to expose her long smooth neck. She grazed her front teeth down the perfect skin, stopping only to drag her tongue across the hollowness beneath her collarbone, before carving the same path back up again towards her pulse. It was throbbing through her skin and Emily didn't hesitate in covering it with her lips, nipping again the flesh until she could fell Paige trembling. Emily smirked when she felt the girl in her arms shiver.

Eventually Emily's grip on Paige's hair loosened slightly and the moment that it did Paige brought her hands up to her face and pushed her back into the wall this time less forcefully and more caringly, she started to kiss her sweetly and lovingly until they could no longer feel air in their lungs and they had to stop. Damn the need for air both of them thought, but now watching the other was the only thing that made the end of the kisses worth it.

"Stay" Emily pleaded one more time, and the quickly nod that she received got her in cloud nine, her stillness turned to a full smile and she kissed her again.

Paige stopped the kiss this time, she took Emily's hands and intertwined with hers, she led them back to the made up bed.

When Paige lay down, Emily smile grew bigger and bigger, Paige extended her hand and she took it, slowly pulling her down she wrapped her arm around Paige while she rested her head in the crock of her neck.

After a few minutes Paige broke the silence "Penny for your thoughts?"

"I don't want this night to end" Emily sighed in Paige's neck, she felt her being pulled more into her and she felt a kiss at the top of her head.

"Me neither Em"

"Nina loves you"

"Em…"Paige began to warn her but Emily was already ahead in voicing her thoughts "No Paige, listen to me, I know she loves you, maybe she's the best option for you, but to tell you the truth I wish you knew that I'm the best for you"

Paige decided not to venture into that again, so she pulled her closer to her.

"What are you afraid of?" Emily asked, she wanted to make sure that she knew what was she afraid of.

Paige gave her a weird look and the slowly she realized what she meant "I'm afraid of getting hurt, but mostly hurting Nina and you"

"Well someone is going to get hurt anyway Paige"

Paige nodded and closed her eyes refraining that bad train of thought.

Then Emily asked again "I know it's easier to play it safe but I wish you could realize that you're stronger than to pick what's easier and what everybody wants, you are stronger than that Paige" Paige again knew the truth was behind Emily's words. It felt good to know that Emily somehow knows what is driving her to choose something that she still doesn't how to make it final.

Emily saw the conflict in her eyes when she looked up. She let out a long sigh and kept her head in Paige's neck, savoring the feeling of being so close to her for probably the last time. She had a death grip on Paige's midsection.

Paige felt the same as to thinking maybe this was their last time, she took gladly the extra attachment and smiled. She kissed Emily at the top of her head and slowly let her eyes close, and soon after she was already asleep.

Emily couldn't imagining her life from now on without Paige, she wished that she could be with her, but she didn't want to lose her and if friends it's what Paige needs her to be then that's what she will be. A while later with those thoughts in mind she fell asleep too.

* * *

The morning came and with the first rays of sun peeking from the greenhouse adaptable glass roof the feeling of contentment came, and the unaltered happiness made Emily smile when she felt another body by her side with a blanket over them, she felt her cheeks warming up knowing that her friends saw them and maybe they got the wrong idea.

The night they had was real and they were sincere with their feelings and wishes, well Emily was, Paige was a different deal, she didn't know where she stands with Paige.

She hadn't told her, her choice yet not vocally, but she knew that deep down Paige wanted to be with her.

Her thoughts were beginning to drift away when she felt Paige stir in her sleep, she was amused by the phases she went through when she started to wake up, first letting out a groan for waking up at the ungodly hour, that she assumed it was. Then panicking as she felt her back being a little bit stiff for sleeping at the large made up bed in the couch, this lasted for a while as she too felt someone holding her as well as she held a warm and delicate body, then finally she opened her eyes gully and watched Emily as she stared at her lovingly.

"Hey"

"Hi"

"What time is it?"

"It's early"

Paige groaned and Emily chuckled, she remembered Paige being a morning person before but now it seemed that she was the opposite of it, and so well people change and she did, Emily started to realize that she had to know this Paige, even if she wasn't that different but there was still a lot to learn as she figured more and more the little things that Paige was doing now that she didn't before.

Emily was lost in her thoughts when Paige tried to move her for her to stand up and stretch but seemingly that Emily was nowhere moving from her position Paige chuckled, she tucked a little bit of hair out of Emily's face and asked again "I think I can't feel my legs, can we?" Paige pointed to the door.

"Yeah sorry" Emily said sheepishly. She helped Paige and they stayed standing in front of each other not knowing what to say.

"Would you-"

"You should-"

Both said at the same time, and both stopping before formulating the complete idea.

"What did you want to say?" Paige asked first, betting Emily up to it.

"Uhh whatever you were going to say" Emily tried, she was going to say that maybe Paige should go, she wanted to give her space but Paige had to be the one to tell her that, not for her to decide.

"Okay then, would you have breakfast with me?" Paige asked confidently, and Emily was instantly surprised and excited, it was a good thing that she didn't want to end their day there, so Emily timidly nodded.

"Do you want to have it here or do you want to go to somewhere else?" Emily asked again not knowing what to do in their situation.

"I want to take you to this place I know, it's my favorite but Nina…I haven't been there in a long time, is that ok?"

At Emily's smile, they went to the stairs very slowly and very quietly as to not to disturb their friends, but they were failing miserably as they were giggling like teenagers, because it looked like they were sneaking out after one long night, Paige didn't want to see their friends yet, she didn't want other people to get their hopes up, if she ends up doing something differently.

It was early anyway so there wasn't any sign of an early riser, or that's what they thought, when Paige was already at the door, they heard someone clearing their throat very loudly, and someone giggling too. They turned around to the source of the noises and watched Hanna and Spencer with a cup of coffee and a smirk on their faces.

Paige only waved her hand at them and went out the door, she waited besides her car for Emily as she stayed behind for a little talk.

"Hey"

"Where are you going young lady?" Hanna smirked, while Emily rolled her eyes at her.

"I'm going to get breakfast with Paige"

"Is that code for something gay?" Hanna asked. Spencer laughed and Emily again rolled her eyes at her friend.

"Bye" She grabbed her coat, and went out the door, but she caught what Hanna said when she was getting her coat 'really is that code for something gay?' and the reply that Spencer gave her 'seriously I'm afraid of what's in that pretty little head of yours'.

When Emily reached the passenger door of the compact SUV, she was smiling from ear to ear, and soon Paige was smiling too, not for the same reasons, but Emily would soon think of that reasons too.

They were half way through the destination when Paige wanted to take a look at her cellphone in case something happened with…everyone.

"Hey Em can you hand me my cellphone I think I left it in the glove compartment"

When Emily handed the phone, Paige checked her phone at a red light and cursed when she saw the infinite missed calls from her dad, some of her mom, and a couple of texts from Nina.

What caught her attention was the recent message her mother send her it said 'Waiting at Blue Jam, the one at Melrose Avenue, your father expects you to be here, please come soon honey'

Paige cringed "Change of plans, I hope you don´t mind, my parents are joining us, they´re already there"

Emily´s breathing hitched, she started to panic, she hadn't seen the McCullers since the last time she went for dinner almost 5 years ago, the one where she suggested well practically begged Paige´s parents to think about the possibility of protecting Paige by moving away, even if it was moving across country only to keep Paige save, Paige wasn't aware of that conversation given that she was in the kitchen and Emily took the chance to explain why it was dangerous for Paige to stay Rosewood.

If she remembered correctly not soon after Paige left her porch telling her that she had everything, a few weeks later Nick McCullers after Mona´s dying, he took his family and moved out to California.

Emily didn't know what to do or what to say, and given the circumstances they could probably have an idea of the situation that Paige and her were in, they were in their dresses from the night before, they combed their hair but it still looked like they had a wild night, and they were grinning like idiots when they looked at each other.

She didn't even noticed they were already parked somewhere and Paige was dangling her keys, a sign that she was nervous too, Paige tried again "You could wait here if you want, I just have to say hello and then I can be back here and we could go somewhere else" she explained.

"It's okay Paige, come on" she tried to sound confident but she felt her insides squirm with each passing minute.

When they entered the establishment the first thing Emily noticed was the coffee scent that was all around them and the warm and sweet aroma of breakfast too. She followed Paige to a secluded but big table where her parents were arguing about something.

When they were near the table, Nick turned to see them and the tight and fake smile he was sporting turned to one in shock as he saw Emily. Carrie had a genuine smile. They both took turns to greet them appropriately to each one and Nick urged them to sit.

"It's good to see you Emily" Carrie sincerely said.

"It's good to see you Mrs. McCullers" Emily responded.

"Please its Carrie, nothing's changed, so how are you dear"

"Everything is-" she turned to look at Paige who was watching her and nodded her head telling her that they were good, now expecting the answer she said "everything is good", smiling while remembering the night and the other day at the dance rehearsal with Paige.

"Should we order?" Paige asked, a blush spreading into her cheekbones at Emily's answer knowing what she thought about when she responded.

Unfortunately Nick caught that and wasn't pleased to put it in a way, he kept his stare intendedly on Paige's reactions.

"-so imagine us, hearing from Paul, that Paige got arrested for getting in a bar fight, which ended with this one with a black eye and Abbie with a bloody nose and of course her girlfriend had to bail them out, we grounded her for like six weeks, but as stubborn as she is, she kept telling us that she was already grown up and it wasn't her fault" Carrie retold one of her fondest memory too, each time she told Emily a story about their lives for the last couple of years, it always ended on Emily laughing and Paige telling her repeatedly 'mom'.

The fact that Nina was in every story wasn't lost in everyone minds.

At the last memory Nick who had been radio silent spoke but only directly to Paige "Paige let's walk, please excuse us" he stood up and soon was followed by Paige who left the table whispering 'I haven't decided yet mom' to her mom.

Emily seriously was having a good time, she was hearing stories about Paige, now she had more intel on her new Paige, the Paige who was still goofy and adorable and sweet and she thought she could list everything that she is but now wasn't the time.

When Nick and Paige went to talk privately, the nervousness came back in an instant. It wasn't because she was alone with Paige's mom, it was because Paige was with her dad, and somehow she knew he was telling her to stop seeing her or something like that.

"So how have you been Emily?" Carrie turned serious for a moment.

"I'm better today, that's for sure" she gave her a small smile.

"How are things with Paige?" she went straight to the point it seemed.

"It's different-"she said seriously "it's complicated"

"It sure is, but she knows that you love her right?" Carrie held her hands in front of her on the table, looking right through Emily as she met her gaze.

"She knows" she gave her a hopeful smile.

"Good"

Now Emily's head was spinning, she was beginning to feel overwhelmed.

"So, that means you a-are ok with me and- you know if she decides to be with me" Emily stuttered.

"I just want her to be happy Emily, I know that Nina makes her happy but somehow I know she is not completely happy, I mean she was but something changed, and you are a good girl Emily, you just have to hang on there because she is very stubborn and she is in a tough situation" Carrie said taking in the process Emily's hands in hers and squishing them for comfort.

Emily felt hope and happiness but across the room it was a different thing for Paige who felt hopeless and hurt.

"You made quite the show yesterday Paige" Nick took a seat at one of the stools in the front of the café.

"I know dad, I'm sorry"

"Your mother had to talk to Paul out of going to check up on you, she told him that you weren't feeling so good, but now I know that you were perfectly fine" He said with a scoff.

"Again I'm sorry dad"

"You're sorry for what?" He questioned her, raising his eyebrow expecting the right answer.

"Sorry for…leaving so abruptly and not telling you where I was going" Paige stated.

"So I see…you don't regret whatever happened after that" Nick said while nodding his head in disapproval.

"No I don't" She said confidently.

They heard Carrie's laughter across the room and smiled.

"I don't think I haven't seen her so happy" Nick referred to his wife before adding "it must be the wedding" He caught the reaction he was waiting for from Paige, the cringed look and the fear on his daughter eyes only at the mention of the wedding, he knew that Paige was back again loving the one and only Emily Fields.

"Dad, can I ask you a question?" Paige approached carefully knowing that her dad now knew her doubts too. He crossed his arms and waited.

"Have you ever gone down a road I mean, far down it and wondered maybe if it wasn't what you wanted?" Paige wondered, she was keeping it vague, but they knew perfectly well what she was referring to.

"The problem with that is it's frequently at odds with what's right, I think in this situation is better what is right rather than what you want" He answered flatly.

"And what do you think is right dad?" she was starting to see that no matter what she now had to do what was right.

"That whatever's going on between you and Emily must stop. It has to stop now!" Nick raised his voice.

"But, Dad" Paige protested

"No, Paige, I know a while back I told you that I wanted you to be happy, but the road you're taking is a road of self-destruction, you were fine before that girl came back into your life, how many times would you let her screw you, now you have everything, a good loyal fiancée who loves you and hasn't done anything remotely close to hurt you and you have a stable job and family and friends who love you, and you want to trade it for what? Someone that you love but at the end left you at your own when things got confusing, I know that advising us to protect you by coming here was an honorable thing to do but that doesn't take the years that we almost lost you because of her and her friends, so now you tell me Paige, what do you think it's the right thing to do" He spoke confidently.

Paige stood there in silence, processing what he said, lost in words, she could only think that Emily was the reason why she was so heartbroken with the harsh and quick decision to move, she blamed herself all this time, and the only person she had to blame was Emily.

She broke her heart back then and she swore she never would let her do that again, but there she was beginning to feel heartbroken, and it was all Emily Field's fault.


	23. Chapter 23

**_Disclaimer: I don't own most of the characters._**

**_Flashbacks are in italics._**

* * *

"Rise and shine babe" Nina whispered in Paige's ear.

Paige mumbled something unintelligible and scrunched her face, she pull out the covers up to her face and tried to turn around but Nina's strong arms wouldn't let her. Nina laughed, she has been doing this since they started to sleep together, she loves these types of mornings where she tries to wake Paige up but ends up snuggling into Paige's side when she tells her 'five more minutes'.

A "No" came from a raspy voice under the covers.

"Yes" Nina tried again, she then felt two soft hands at each side of her hips and suddenly she was being pulled back under the covers and cuddle by Paige. "Hmm sleep's good" Paige mumbled again.

"As much as I want this, we have to go, we're late and we're meeting our moms at the agency to finish some things" Nina explained. She felt Paige go rigid after mentioning where they had to be.

"Do I have to go?" She timidly asked. She got her answer when Nina unwrapped herself from her and went to the ensuite to get ready.

"I swear to god if you're not up by the time I get out, you're going to regret it" Nina yelled and Paige plopped down, hoping that she was going to regret it in a good way.

* * *

"Our moms are already there" Nina said with a roll of her eyes, Paige smirked at her, she turned in time to get the last parking space available. She turned off the car and kissed Nina.

When Nina broke the kiss they exited the car and went to the conference room, where they greeted their moms and Hanna.

"Finally the two love birds appear" Nina's mother said.

"You know how this one gets" Nina pointed towards Paige, she blushed after remembering their morning activities and for why they were late. She was right, she did regret it in a good way.

"So now that we all are here, we should begin" Hanna said awkwardly, she wished Emily was there, she was hiding in her office, she told her she was looking at new prospect clients, but she knew she was hiding from Paige.

Hanna told her to man up and go fight for her when Emily told her that they got into a fight.

Emily smiled at the sentiment of being lectured by her friend. This was another facet that Hanna was trying, to be firm, and well she succeeded.

"Isn't Emily coming?" Carrie asked, seconds after the door opened with a smiling Emily entering the room.

The first person to notice her was Paige and instantly their eyes met but as quickly as they met Paige turned away with hurt in her eyes.

Emily knew that what happened between them was the reason for Paige to be with Nina instead of her, they had to pass through some things from their past to overcome what may come in the future if she indeed decides to give Emily a chance but unfortunately Paige was nowhere near ready to do that, not as mad and hurt as she was and she remembered the reasons.

* * *

_After Paige returned to the table, her father had a satisfactory smirk as he watched her daughter stiff posture when she sat next to the girl, Emily's lovingly smile wasn't returned by her daughter._

_The little impromptu breakfast ended and Paige's mom and Emily parted ways in good terms and talking about future meetings with knowledge that neither Paige nor Nick could decipher, Paige noticed the exchange and wanted to know but decided against it at the last moment._

_She opened the passenger seat for Emily and she didn't return the smile and the thank you that accompanied the action. That's when Emily sensed that something was not right._

_The beginning of the car ride was filled by awkward silence and the little questions on where to turn, they were headed to Emily's loft._

_The tension was palpable, it broke when Paige decided to ask if it was true what she discovered early on, so what came out was "where you ever going to tell me?" she didn't need to turn to see Emily to know the confusion latched on her face._

_Emily waited for her to fill her on the subject, because really she didn't knew what she was talking about._

_"We're here" Paige announced, turning off the car, she waited for Emily to say something, but she didn't, she seemed glued to her seat, so she impatiently went out the door and opened the door for her. _

_Emily was thinking about where did it all went wrong, everything was fine at breakfast until Paige left for a talk with her father, she knows that Nick is not a big fan of her but what could have her told Paige for her to be mad at her and well then it hit her, she realized what could've happened._

_She was going to enter her building apartment when she turned and extended her hand for Paige to take and for her to go with her, Paige didn't grabbed the extended hand but she was at her side signaling that she was going in._

_When they were outside the door, Emily toyed with her keys as she was growing nervous with each passing minute, trying to figure out what to tell Paige about the decision she made so long ago to protect her._

_They entered the duplex penthouse that Emily rented for her temporary stay in L.A. _

_The first thing Paige noticed was the large open living area with large sliding windows on her right and skylights instead of a normal ceiling. In the left side there was the kitchen in one side and the dining table on the other, all of this was in the lower level, which also included a floating staircase near the door, which lead to the mezzanine level, where the master bedroom and bathroom were featured._

_"I like what you've done to the place" Paige remarked, she took a seat in the large plush white couch, while Emily went to the kitchen to get a glass of water, at first she was searching for something much stronger but given the hour of the day and the situation she was going to be in, she opted for water, she asked Paige if she wanted something but she only saw the back of her head shaking._

_"Would you like to go upstairs?" Emily suggested a bold choice indeed. But again Paige declined, patting the spot next to her, hoping that Emily understood that she wanted to talk._

_Emily slowly approached the space next to Paige. She was toying with her glass of water, not knowing how to begin, but Paige again beat her up to it._

_"My dad told me what you did or rather what you suggested" her tone was firm and cold._

_"Yeah, I did it for you…how are you feeling?"_

_Paige gave an incredulous look before responding, her bad mood was increasing, the disappointment and anger were creeping in "What do you think Emily, you've been saying that I need to make my own decisions but I haven't been making them since it all started, you thought it was easier for you to be with Alison if I was away right, that if I stayed I would've followed you and you would at some point get angry with me for holding you back so that's why you send me away"_

_"It wasn't like that Paige" Emily began but Paige cut her off by standing and raising her hand signaling for her to stop._

_"Emily I was fine knowing that you didn't want to be with me anymore, I knew we would've been friends at some point and I could've protected you, but you send me far away! You had no idea how worried I was the whole time I was here and above all I was guilty for leaving you, that's why I called you and you didn't waste any time being with Alison huh? I bet you never once thought about what she did to me, to you!" Paige in one breath said._

_Emily was speechless for a moment, she has seen Paige angry but this was another thing, the hurt and the betrayal in her eyes was something she wished she never seen and Paige took Emily's silence as a confirmation for what she said._

_"What you did, you decided something that it wasn't yours to decide, I know that you weren't the whole reason, my parents talked about moving for some time after what happened with Alison and then Maya, but you…you didn't even gave me a chance to decide what I thought it was best for me, and it's funny how things go back to you wishing me the best of everything and then knowing that I had it when I was with you and you still send me away" she looked defeated by the end. Paige kept pacing from side to side when she stopped and let out a bigger groan when she seemed to realize something._

_"The only person that has been there for me is Nina, she has decided most of the things I know and it may seem that she's calling all the shots but she isn't, she at least lets me know, she tells me all of the things she wants and you say that I give her all and it's true, because that's what I want too. God! I'm so stupid, I shouldn't be here" Paige said grabbing her keys and going towards the door._

_Emily sprinted towards the door and grabbed the keys from Paige's hands, she stood between the door and Paige. "Don't you dare" Emily firmly said._

_Paige rolled her eyes and in a half breath said "Move!" she tried to get her keys back, her annoyance now completed._

_"Would you at least hear what I have to say" she coerced her with a pleading look_

_Paige let out a groan "Emily there's nothing-" Emily gave her best pout and pleading eyes ever and of course Paige caved and went back to the couch._

_The problem was that Emily didn't know what to say, she was desperate for Paige to stay and at least spend the whole day with her as she promised, she knew that at the end of the day Paige would've realized that she wanted her, but now this threw a wrench in the forming relationship and she didn't knew what to do._

_She chose to seat at the table in front of Paige, she tried to hold her hands but Paige kept her hands at her sides, almost gripping the elaborate fabric on the couch._

_"Paige, I'm not going to apologize for something that I thought it was right, and I still do, you got out in time, I really wanted what was best for you, and maybe I'm coming to terms that you've found it. Look I thought that being with me was keeping you in constant danger and deciding the best way to keep you safe was for you to go away, and that single thought nearly killed me, I talked myself out of telling your parents a bunch of times, but at the end I knew it would've been the best and now I see it and I'm okay with it" When Paige was about to protest Emily held her hand up _

_"Let me finish, I know you don't understand but I did it because I love you, I told you not so long ago that the thought of losing you like I lost Maya as well as Alison kept me at night, it wasn't enough that they caught A for those thoughts to go away, the only way for them to go away was with drinking, I was in a dark place before coming here, but now I'm better knowing that you're safe and you're fine and partially because of my decision and I could never deny that what I did it was for the best, it was for you to have the best, and you do…but if this is a way for you to get away with choosing the safe road then do it, by all means go be unhappy and do what you hate most, be the person everybody wants you to be and don't be yourself, and don't tell me that I didn't try, I did, but…"she couldn't even finish, and now tears were streaming down her face and she was mildly shaking._

_"You're giving up?" Paige whispered, and Emily laughed, she didn't intend to but she found it funny, all that she has done is try, try, and try, and it looked like Paige was choosing Nina time after time._

_"I…" Emily wanted to rectify herself, she didn't want Paige to think that she was giving up so easily but Paige stood up and grabbed her keys out of her hands and bolted towards the door._

_She turned once more, to say something, but words weren't coming because Emily kissed her with all she got, but Paige pulled back abruptly, she couldn't do it anymore._

_Emily's flushed and wide-eyed and her lipstick is smeared all over Paige's mouth and she can't stop staring and yearning and whishing that she knew the right words to say._

_It looked like she managed to say "I'm sorry" meeting soft brown eyes and biting down on the inside of her cheek with such force that she could taste blood._

_"This was a mistake Emil-" again words were no longer necessary when Emily crashed her lips into Paige's with so much power that her lips parted and she gripped Paige's coat to yank her closer and this wasn't chaste at all, she wants to prove her that they still could have what they had the night before. _

_It wasn't careful at all, and then Paige was gasping for breath and Emily refused to give it to her, she refuses to do anything but connect their lips together again and again, not letting Paige have the chance to leave. She draws her tongue over Paige's teeth and sucks on her lower lip and bites and kisses, and bites again until Paige is dazed and her lips and her heart swollen._

_What Paige manages to say between the deep breaths she took was "fuck you" she then turned around and stormed out of the apartment, letting tears down on her face._

_Paige now thought out of sight out of mind was what she was going to achieve. She was hurt too, and she cursed herself when she tried to open up her heart again, warming her heart with the idea of choosing Emily instead of Nina, but the past was catching up to them once again, and her father was right, she always brought trouble._

_Emily felt glued to the spot that Paige was minutes ago incapable of feeling anything other than her lips and the taste she had of Paige, after a minute the shock went off she cried at the thought that she lost Paige._

* * *

"I'm here" Emily apologized for being late which brought 'as always' from Nina and a roll of her eyes.

Everyone heard that and Hanna didn't want to cause more problems, so she dismissed it and handed each woman the itinerary of the last two weeks and the remaining chores and choices they hadn't choose already.

"So Paige, Nina has already sorted out the missing things when you were so stubbornly letting her do all of the work and that's what she came up with everything that you have in your hands, but we reminded her that she had to give you your own personal vote" Hanna explained.

Both of their mothers laughed at the true statement and Nina rolled her eyes again, Paige smiled and nodded.

Paige had equal say in every choice, regardless of her actual desires about not caring for the choices because she knew Nina did her best job. Nevertheless, Paige pointed to each design, arrangement and planning of their schedule while Nina stood silently behind her watching over her shoulder, while their mothers where by Paige's sides and both wedding planners at the other side of the table giving each other meaningful glances and having whispered conversations every time she did something.

Emily watched with fascination and irritation at the same time, wondering how Paige picked every single thing Nina had insisted on weeks ago without having voiced anything in front of Paige.

It was when Paige was choosing a possible centerpiece from the three photos that were displayed in front of her that she noticed the way Paige's hand would start to point to one choice, the one that Emily thought Paige would really like and not the one that Nina picked, and before she did she would suddenly shift in her seat and move to the next one, the exact one that Nina picked. Paige suddenly tapped on and stated confidently "I think this one is perfect".

Emily and Carrie who began to notice the change in Paige's eyes and demeanor each time she was about to pick what she liked but ended picking up what Nina seemed to want, they looked at each other first and then at her curiously.

"Are you sure honey? I mean it's very nice, elegant but it's not your style" Carrie pointed out, ignoring the scoff behind them, Paige ignored Nina too and smiled at her mother.

"Yeah, it's perfect"

Carrie wanted her daughter to talk to Emily but they couldn't talk with an audience until minutes later Hayley received a call and went out the conference room, as well as Hanna who asked Nina to go with her to her office for a minute to 'check some things for the upcoming Friday night which was the surprise bachelorette party that Nina was throwing for Paige' in which Carrie wanted to have a say on it, so she went with the girls, finally leaving the two ex-girlfriends behind to have their expected but unwanted talk.

"She's sending you signals, isn't she? I know she is, she's telling you what to say, she's controlling you. Again!" that was what came from Emily's mouth, instead of the practiced apology she wanted to give her.

Paige scoffed at that "Unbelievable" Was all she said.

"Paige this is your wedding day, you need to have a say in how everything goes, you need to stop letting her boss you around. You can't let her pick everything, she doesn't need to control your whole life"

"Didn't you hear what I said to you the other day?" Paige asked incredulously of what Emily said "the only person that hasn't controlled me before is Nina, you don't get to talk when I'm here because of you and your actions" Paige raised her voice, she didn't want her anger to come into play but she was very hurt remembering that this was the Emily that didn't want to fight for her anymore.

"Paige I-" again Emily was lost for words, she was getting annoyed by her own incapacity of forming words and now even more now that Paige seemed to think that what she did wasn't good.

"She's not controlling my life, she knows what she wants and that's good for me" Paige let out sigh, more calmed now that she knew once again that she was right.

"Look Emily, I understand why you did it, but you have to understand that I'm hurt and angry, you didn't even thought about what I wanted, you never once considered my feelings because you were too busy humping Alison! And at least Nina does that, she cares about my feelings"

"She's manipulating you!" She yelled, again going with her instincts rather than her actual thoughts "God you're so blind, you don't even know what you want! That's why people make decisions for you, because you're so weak, you are afraid of living, you're afraid of being happy and afraid of taking what you want!"

"I was happy before you came into my life…" she whispered and when the shock of Emily's face was showing she continued "What? You think that you could waltz into my life after years with those pathetic excuses of you not forgetting me, or that you love me, you're pathetic if you think that I will leave Nina for you!"

At the last word she heard a small gasp that surely it wasn't from Emily who had her hands covering her surely open mouth and watering eyes. It was from the women that stood at the door.

Paige after realizing what she said wanted to go to the other side of the table and say sorry to Emily, she didn't want to say that, it was the haste of the things and the anger that she had from Emily's words that she snapped, she wanted to hold Emily and tell her that she was sorry, but she felt soft hands around her arm and saw the retreating back of Emily.

"What was that Paige?"

"What? Paige refrained from snapping at Nina too, wanting to tell her to go away and to give her a minute.

"Why did you treat her that way, you weren't acting like yourself, hey it's okay I'm here" Nina hugged her sideways, while Carrie nodded her head in disappointment at her daughters behavior.

"Why do you care, is not like you're worried about her"

"I'm worried about you" Nina told her sadly, she knew Paige was struggling with something since she came back from the 4 of July trip and it must have been something involving Emily and now she was right, something must have happened between them if she snapped at her like that.

"You shouldn't be, I'm fine" Paige told her stubbornly, deep down screaming for the way she messed up.

Carrie decided to speak then, giving Nina a look for her to go outside for a minute, Nina understood and joined her mother who was still on the phone in the hallway, blissfully unaware of the fight that was happening in the conference room.

"Paige, I don't need to tell you what you have to do, so I expect your next few words be 'I'm sorry' to Emily, that's not the way I raised you, so help me god, if you don't go and apologize this instant"

"I know I'm sorry, but…"

"No you're sorry, end of story" Carrie stopped her, not having her daughters attempt of excuse.

"No mom, I'm sorry for treating her like that she didn't deserve it, but I'm sick of people controlling me" she explained, but after watching her mother with her crossed arms and angry eyebrows she only murmured a 'fine'.

"Em? What was that" Hanna grabbed her best friend and closed their office door.

"She's doesn't want me" Emily let out a frustrated sigh after the tears stopped.

"Why!" Hanna exclaimed, if she felt sad about the way that Paige treated her, it must have been ten times worse for Emily to hear that, Hanna thought they made some progress on the fourth of July, and that the disappearance of the last days that the two did, made her think that they were caught up in each other, but it was the opposite they had a fall out and from what she heard from Paige she feared it was worse than just a 'falling out' it could meant Paige already decided.

"I don't want to explain it right now, I know that she said those things because she was angry but maybe she's right maybe I'm delusional and pathetic for thinking that she would choose me" Emily finished, wiping away the remaining tears and grabbed her cellphone and her purse "I'm going home, tell me if you need anything Han" and with that she went out the door without looking back or waiting for Hanna to speak.

Hanna sighed and placed her hands above her belly when she felt him move like crazy, she whispered 'I know, I know, but they will figure it out kiddo'.

When Hanna returned to the conference table alone again without her partner she immediately saw the change in Paige's face when she realized that Emily wasn't coming along, the look was crestfallen and heartbroken, and she knew that Paige was really sorry.

"I assume that Emily couldn't stay with us any longer?" Nina commented and Hanna nodded, she talked straight about business, an hour later they tried to part ways.

Paige stayed behind, she followed Hanna into her office and sat down dejectedly in the comfortable chair. With her hand on her face she spoke "Hanna, I messed up" she cried softly.

Hanna tried to look stern and angry at Paige but after hearing the way she said it, she hugged her, and patted her head.

"Yeah you did" She said which commanded Paige to look at her and groan, "You're supposed to comfort me, to say that everything is going to be okay, not agreeing with me"

Hanna chuckled and refrained to say what Paige wanted to hear "Paige she understands that you told her all of those things in the heat of the moment, all Emily wants is for you to be happy, and if it's true and you were better without her then you need to tell her and stop stringing her along, Paige she's not that strong, you weren't there when you left, Spencer, Aria and I stood by her bed for days, hell for months listening to her cry, sometimes she cried to sleep and we couldn't do anything because it was her decision to keep you safe that made you go away, she would have gone to you sooner after we caught A, but she was so afraid of losing you, she landed into drinking and going out and putting up walls that were impossible for us to reach until she came back here to fight for what she wants and for who she loves but now she feels like she lost you, so you either apologize and tell her that you were an asshole and that you want her or you apologize for the way you told her those things and tell her that you could be at least friends"

Paige nodded she was about to ask her what she needed to do before Hanna knowing her question beforehand spoke "give her some time, you will see her this Friday" she said, and that got a surprised and confused face from Paige and Hanna almost hit her head with the back of her hand.

"Your bachelorette party, we will be there" She explained, and Paige didn't say anything.

"But if she doesn't go, you have to understand why, but we will both be at your suit fitting appointment, so now give her some time"

It seems funny how things work out, Paige not so long ago asked Emily for time and space for her to decide, she hasn't done that yet, maybe she has, but she always changed her mind, always this close to cancel the wedding, and now Emily was the one who needed space.

* * *

Paige was wearing her black two-piece dress, sleeveless and darted crop top with crisscrossing panels at the back paired with the high-rise skirt curving with a slit in the front. She loved to wear something racy from time to time and now especially with something to accomplish in mind, better yet with someone in mind to impress, she let Abbie put more make-up on her and then they were racing to get to the bar and celebrate. Nina was already there considering that she changed at work and was meeting their friends before.

They arrived after nine and the bar was invite only, their reservation was already at full top, their friends and some relatives were already there waiting for the other half, Paige smiled because Nina remembered that she wanted to go to this place before but they didn't had the time to check it out, and now she was going to one of the upscale bars on Hollywood.

The bar caught Paige attention first with the marble octagon shape, there were private rooms that where reserved beforehand. She smiled when she saw the other side of the room and recognized a few familiar faces, so she approached, thankfully it wasn't packed as many other places would, so when she reached many people approached her and engulfed her in strong holds and warm hugs while yelling and whispering happy bachelorette party.

Plenty of her friends from Stanford and UCLA, and some of her colleges and of course Nina's friends were there. The only group of people she wanted there weren't in sight, until Abbie nudged her to turn around and whispering 'they know how to make and entrance' and Paige chuckled then.

She let out a sigh of relieve when she saw them but specially her, Emily was dressed in a magenta strapless Midi dress, her long legs on display, which somehow resembled to the girl who was whispering in her ear 'you're drooling…she looks good, go apologize" Nina smirked at her and returned to her talk with her friends.

Paige blushed and dipped her head, she felt strong hands grapping her in a hug, and she smiled, Spencer was the first to greet her and then Aria, she started to look for Hanna and Caleb, and of course Emily who she saw seconds ago but wasn't with the two girls.

"Hanna didn't feel so great so she stayed behind and well Caleb didn't want to leave her alone so he stayed" Aria guessed what was on Paige's mind before she could ask, but seeing as she still looked around she frowned.

"She's at the bar, you should go talk to her" she pointed out to where Emily was swaying in her seat with a drink in her hand and talking to the bartender.

Paige took a deep breath and braced herself for the backlash of the apology that was coming, maybe Emily with a couple of drinks on her would forgive her, but she had to be honest she wouldn't if it was up to her, she hurt her and she made her believe that she didn't want her.

When she was close enough she heard Emily order the bartender to not leave her empty handed everytime she finishes a drink, the response of the bartender was a flirty one saying that he wouldn't disappoint her.

She cleared her throat and Emily turned to see her, she was expecting one of her friends so the surprise face was all natural when she saw Paige. She pointed to the stool right next to her and she took it, the guy at the other side of the bar out of custom asked what was she drinking but she declined the offer with a shake of her head and a pointed look for him to leave them alone for a minute.

"Emily I…I'm sorry for what I said the other day, I was…well there's no excuse I just hope you can forgive me" she would've touched the hand that was gripping the glass but she refrained, Emily let the words process in her mind and she slowly put down her drink.

"I know Paige, I'm-" she was about to tell her she was sorry too but one of Nina's friends took Paige by the arm and half yelled her to come and play with them, the games they've prepared assuming she was drunk and the music was getting louder by the minute, Paige gave her a nod and asked Emily if she was going, she signaled with her towards the group and Emily followed the two girls.

The friend who later Emily knew as one of Nina's best friend Kaitlyn sat between Nina and Paige who were wearing some sort of a pink and fluffy crowns with a vail around their heads.

She handed a pink stick that it looked like a whipping stick to the girl who was sitting at the other side of Nina and began explaining the game.

"Okay guys this is the how well do you know the future Mrs. you have to answer whatever we ask you in detail, you mostly have to answer whatever you think the other would answer or to give details of what the other thought of that moment or what they did, and the other one will answer if it's true or not, if it is, we all have to take a shot and if it's not true then you both have to take a shot, both answers have to be correct if you don't want to take the shot, if one is wrong and the other right you still have to take the shot. Ultimately if we know the answer and if we are not satisfied then you will also take a shot. Okay, everyone here will ask a question if they want and everything will run its course" Kaitlin explained while taking a shot, to be ready of course and encouraged everybody to do the same.

"Right do you remember the first thing you said to one another?"

Nina answered without giving it much thought "she said sorry for bumping into our table and she asked me out but didn't finish because Abbie came into her rescue"

Paige only said "you asked me out" which got a disapproving nod from Nina who tried not to laugh when Kaitlin yelled wrong and poured the shots for the couple. Abbie who sat next to Paige told her that she needed to elaborate more if she wanted to win.

"Now what was the first impression of each other?"

Nina said "I assume you thought I was determined?" she sort of asked and responded at the same time.

At Paige small but not so sure nod she responded "excuse me if I was shallow when I thought that you were hot as hell and determined as well" everyone cheered before she added "your first impression of me was that I was also hot right? Paige asked and Nina laughed with everyone else "I also thought that you were cute and a goober" she added. Everyone had to drink after the last response and Nina high fived Paige when Paige held her hand up and said "see a goober" after she high fived her.

"Did you ever disliked each other"

Nina thought that Paige could never dislike her so she said "I don't think so" and Paige knowing how many times Nina has said to her but in good terms that she didn't like her, she said "Plenty of times?" and Nina nodded "only when you don't listen, she is very stubborn" she explained the last part and again everyone had to drink while someone asked "even in bed?" And they all couldn't stop the laughing.

"What's your favorite memory of your relationship?"

"I probably have to say that your favorite moment was when you moved in?" Nina asked.

"Yeah it was" Paige said smiling and responded "your favorite moment was either our first anniversary or the proposal" at Nina's nod Kaitlyn stopped everybody for taking their shot when she said that she has to pick only one.

"Our first one year anniversary" Paige responded confidently.

Nina said the opposite "actually it was our first date because that's the day that I fell for you" after the wooing ended they had to take their shots, for Nina it was like drinking water but Paige already felt a buzz in her head with the couple of drinks she had before.

Kaitlyn decided to let the couple be closer together when they answered the cute and adorable questions so she got out of the middle and went to the other side of Nina and now she sat next to Paige, she made a good decision knowing that whatever the question they would've ended with them wanting to kiss after their responses.

"What do you like best about each other?"

They both stared into each other's eyes and Nina again was the first to answer "You like that I'm determined and confident if I see something that I want" Paige really loved that about Nina.

"I like that but I love that you make me a better person and you let me be me" she responded and Nina said "Always Paige, I love you" she kissed her sweetly and everybody went 'aww'.

"What do you think I love about you?" Nina asked and Paige responded cockily "well apart from everything," everyone chuckled "I think you love my sense of humor?"

"Yeah and how strongly you love" she said while smiling, and Paige whispered a small thank you.

"What is your favorite way of spending time with each other?" Aria asked when it was her turn, knowing that they liked to stay in their comfy couch and talk, but she should've known better than to ask something that could be open for sexual innuendos and in fact it got that.

"Other than bed" Someone said and everybody laughed while Nina nodded and Paige blushed.

"Other than that, you like when we have dinner and then we cuddle on the couch and drink wine" Nina said and Paige agreed "you like it too" and they both nodded and pecked each other's lips while everybody took their shots.

Emily zooned out after the first question, immersed in drinks and the shots she saw everyone take when the sickly sweet girls got their answers right.

She grew more impatient after the last batch of refills ended and the poor waiter didn't have the time to replace the old drink with a new one, but after hearing her friend talk she zooned back in into the game when she heard the next line of question.

She knew the answer to what Paige could've done and maybe Nina didn't knew because it involved her and if she was correct then Paige would've been thinking about those days too, the question was "what is something you did as a teen that you're parents never learned about?"

Paige tried to hide a little bit of her discomfort when she responded immediately "you went to Cancun when you were in senior year with your friends"

"Yeah, a wild trip " Suzy one of Nina's friends backed up the answer.

Then Nina regarded her with a look when she couldn't come up with something that Paige told her about her adolescence.

"I didn't do much so..." she shrugged her shoulders and Nina squinted her eyes at her trying to remember a story. After a while she came up short and took the shot she was supposed to if she didn't guess correctly, which made Paige took the drink as well.

Abbie coerced Paige to tell them a crazy thing she did but she wasn't sure if she wanted to tell everybody, but then everybody's attention went to Emily who for the first time spoke "she had sex in their pool multiple times" she smirked at the memory and at Paige whose mouth was wide open, everybody cheered, and started to congratulate her except from Nina and the girls who knew with whom she had sex with.

"Okay next question" Paige raised her voice nervous for the memories that flooded back into her mind. It wasn't the moment to think about that Paige chastised herself.

Nina noticed and added "who wants to go next"

Everybody once again where surprised when a very drunk and smug Emily raised her hand and a girl gave her the stick.

"Who was the first girl you ever kissed?"

Nina and Paige looked at each other and nodded. Paige was the first to answer "your first kiss was with your first girlfriend outside of your house and your dad caught you"

And then Nina simply said "Emily was yours" She said coldly everyone fell silence and Emily smirked while she drank the new glass that arrived while asking them, she took it in, in one sip, some of Nina's friends were giving her nasty looks, having heard the story from Nina's side and others were giving her pitying looks knowing her from what Paige told them.

Emily missed the looks that Spencer and Aria were giving to Paige.

Spencer stood up and whispered to Emily to go with her but she stubbornly said no. Then Aria did the same and again Emily nodded her head no. She poured herself another drink.

"What was the happiest moment of your life?" Nina asked Paige instead, wanting to have the upper hand again.

Paige knew the answer Nina wanted to hear but deep down she couldn't stop thinking about the other day to be more specific the fourth of July as the happiest moment of her life but, she couldn't say that, she made a decision and she had to stick to it.

"I think for both of us was our engagement" at Nina's nod everyone cheered for the couple and proceeded to take their shot, only Emily scoffed.

"What was your most embarrassment moment?"

"It was either when she was on speaker, when I was driving with her parents and she mentioned how tired and happy she was after she had the idea of filming us, or the day when she called me to get her and Abbie out of jail, but I have to go with the first one" Nina said, everybody got the innuendo and started to laugh, Paige was blushing, although she was more worried for how Emily seemed to take shot after shot after hearing their responses.

Paige couldn't remember a time where Nina had an embarrassing moment so she took the shot and Nina took it too, knowing that she hadn't done anything nearly embarrassing as her fiancée.

"Does she has tattoos or piercings and do you know the meaning behind them or the story?"

"She doesn't have any" Paige smirked and from Nina's nod everybody drank a little bit disappointed of her sanctity. Nina on the other hand, responded staring at Emily that Paige had a tattoo which surprised Emily she spluttered a little bit of her drink, it was sort of a test given that her tattoo was between her hipbone and her leg, and the tattoo was a beautiful and tiny blue anchor, and she passed, so nothing beyond a kiss happened.

"When did you meet her parents?"

"I met Nina's dad first at her office on our first date here in LA, it was our first year anniversary, and he invited me to brunch the next morning where I met Hayley" Paige retold the story.

"She was so nervous she broke one glass, insinuated that we have slept together, you know her, she was at her finest hour. I met Paige's parents in San Francisco after our sixth date" Paige smiled and let her continue "they went to the same restaurant and the reservation was for McCullers so after we arrived they did, short after, and Paige and Nick started to argue for the table and well the rest was history"

After a couple of more questions Kaitlyn decided to do an extra round, she explained this one too "you have to write the answer, the same rule applies if your answer is the same then we have to drink if you get it wrong then you have to drink, ready?" at both of the couple nods she handed them pads where the questions were, it wasn't a competition but both of them raced each other into answering the questions. After they finished writing their answers they waited for Kaitlyn to read them.

"Okay the first one says when was your first kiss" she read the question out loud.

"Nina answered 'on our first date' and Paige 'outside of my door room'" Kaitlyn answered what the papers said.

"Okay Paige It specifically says when, not where, so take a shot" she grumbled but she did it, then she decided to cut short her drinking because it was making her dizzy and confused by the questions on the board, so she picked a light beer and waited for the next question to be read.

'Who said I love you first'

"You both answered without details what a bummer, Nina you put 'I did' and Paige you wrote 'she did', all of them took the shot and the girls high fived again.

"Where was your first date?"

"You both almost got it right 'Gary Danko' was the place although Paige 'Gary something' is a close one, you have to drink" Kaitlyn pointed out, Paige took a sip of her beer and Nina had to drink the shot.

"What's your favorite body part of your partner -you had to put whatever you thought is theirs and what's yours-" Kaitlyn explained before reading the answers

"Nina put that Paige loves her eyes and that she loves her smile, and Paige wrote that Nina loves her arms, and that she loves her eyes, okay so you got one right and one wrong so Nin you only have to drink one shot for now" Kaitlyn explained. After Nina took the shot she waved her hand for her best friend to continue.

"What annoys you and what annoys her"

"'When I wake her' was Nina's answer, and what annoys her is 'when she makes me late for work when she asks me to stay for a while and enjoy -cuddling time-" Kaitlyn read and everybody laughed.

"Okay now Paige said that what she does to annoy Nina is 'when I don't clean the glasses on our bar and she definitely annoys me when she doesn't fill her gasoline tank which makes me, her designated driver'" Again everyone got a good laugh with that one, and Nina had to drink again, giving Paige a mischievous smirk.

"Uhh this getting interesting 'what's her favorite sexual position'" Kaitlyn read out loud for the couple to write their answers.

Nina for this question in particular picked up the pen and scribbled her answer while seeing her fiancée having a hard time like she had with her answer.

"Nina said every position and Paige left it blank" but she explained "As long as its with you then...yeah..." everyone again made happy noises and began to take shots.

"Have you ever been skinny dipping if so when"

Nina instead of scribbling into the paper responded "we haven't done that yet" she said with a wink, but Kaitlyn pointed out that if they done it whether together or alone.

When Nina said that she hadn't everyone turned to look at Paige who blushed deeply at the memory that came with the question "Nina hasn't I have, when I was 17" she commented.

"Ohhh do tell us" someone said everyone including Nina were intrigued except the girl who was smirking and smiling from ear to ear.

When Nina connected the dots and whispered something to Paige's ear, she saw her nodding and Nina forced a smile on her face and grabbed another question without furthering the millions of questions that everyone wanted to hear.

"Where was the craziest place you ever had sex"

"What is it with the sexual questions?" Nina said while laughing naturally and began writing, she put "our offices" Kaitlyn read it out loud.

"That's not a crazy place" one of Nina's friend said and Paige laughed when she told them "trust me it is, we could've been caught so many times!" She said while laughing, but she cursed when she remembered the answer she put.

"Okay Paige I hope you gave us a better place, let see…an airplane" Kaitlyn said smirking at her friend who then remember the act.

"Dude you joined the mile high club and you didn't tell me!" Abbie exclaimed while punching her best friend in the arm. Paige rubbed her arm and mouthed a sorry to her friend and laughed.

Nina had to drink again and Paige noticed that she was getting tipsy by the minute so she tried to cut the drinks to a minimum but she didn't listen.

Paige zoomed out of the conversation when her line of vision went to the girl who left the table abruptly and towards one of the bar stools near the hot bartender who seemed overly enthusiastic to have her there again.

After a couple of more games she decided to stop playing and leave Nina to lead the course of the night, she was caught staring at Emily worriedly by Spencer, who tried to reason with her a couple of minutes ago but with no avail whatsoever, and the next course of action was for her to convince Paige to take care of her.

"I haven't seen her drunk since the night she was drugged" Paige quietly commented, Spencer returned to her side and let out a scoff "Well I have and I think this is not the last time"

"Did she do this often?" She asked, she heard some things about Emily's problems with alcohol but seeing now first hand, it was making her nervous "yes, it was like clockwork, she was better the whole time she was here"

"You're wondering what changed, I know, it's because of me" Paige told her sadly, Spencer grabbed her by the arm and took her to a quieter spot on the bar, they sat at the other side of the party and in the same line of vision of the drunk girl.

Spencer said "it's not your fault, she only wanted to have and excuse, and I have to say it, this is a pretty good one, who really wants to hear the love of her life telling stories about how in love she is with another person…she's blaming herself from everything that happened between you guys"

"Well she doesn't have to, it was my fault too" Paige dejectedly said, she looked at Spencer who was giving her a sympathetic look.

"Do you want her though?" Spencer carefully approached the subject, she haven't had the time to talk to Paige since she was in New York and now that she knows what has transpired between her and Emily she wanted to know what was on Paige's mind, she was also so confused because she saw them together last Friday and in a matter of a week Paige was still with Nina.

It took a while before Paige responded "I care about her very much"

Paige knew that Spencer could see her right through, so she responded with the truth, but she honestly can't afford to give her hope for something she considers so inevitable "but I'm with Nina. And in a week that's how it's going to be. Emily is…I hope we stay as friends" Spencer raised an eyebrow at the term but lets her continue "considering our history, I think our relationship could stand that, I would think that you'd take what you can get"

Spencer shrugs, now moody and annoyed that she is going nowhere like it did with Emily "It's so wrong Paige, you don't have to be with Nina, she's great and I can see why everybody likes her, she's determined and a very hard ass lawyer" she said laughing along with Paige, then she stares at her "but, you don't smile the same way around her"

That was new, Paige thought "what do you mean?"

Spencer thought carefully of what to say next "you smile at her like it's easy, like you have everything that one could've hoped for, but you smile at Emily like it hurts, and you hadn't changed the way you look at her since we were in high school, you look at her like it's been so much harder to get there but it was worth it, your smile is more genuine and it's also painful like it hurts to be in love with her, but that's the beauty of it, love hurts but in the right kind of way"

Paige knows that's true, Spencer's words couldn't be more stuck in reality but unfortunately with tears in her eyes she counters "sometimes easy is good"

Spencer clenched her hands and nodded disappointedly.

"Yeah sometimes" and there goes the hope she had, Spencer thought, but she couldn't stop herself from asking her if she could do something for her, seeing as Paige watched Emily who was laughing and talking to strangers at the bar and the rigid posture she had, and after the single nod she received she whispered "please take her home"

After Paige immediate nod she pulled away from her and went to the group, trying to talk to Aria and Abbie to explain to them where Paige was going if anyone looked for her, Aria told her that she was going to take Nina to their apartment and not to worry, but they did worry when they couldn't see Nina anywhere, and now Paige and Emily too were out of sight.

Paige didn't want to explain it to Nina so she went straight to Emily, she tapped her shoulder and got a surprised and annoyed face when she thought it was Spencer again. Paige came closer to her ear and whispered 'Come on Em, let's get you home' after the hesitant nod she received, she tried to carry her until strong hands helped her carry a very drunk Emily.

Paige thought it was Spencer but when she tried to open her passenger's seat she saw the back of her fiancée's hair doing what she intended to do "don't forget tomorrow we have the open house tour with our parents" she said when she turned, Paige slowly put the drunk girl carefully in the passenger seat and locked the door, she turned in her spot to talk to her.

"It's okay Paige, she needs you, I just hoped you'd stay for the strippers" she said with a wink and a laugh.

Paige thought that she couldn't break what they had more than she had and she bowed not do it more, "I hope there isn't any" Paige said seriously while taking her hand.

"Relax, I had them back in San Francisco" Nina winked, and Paige chuckled.

"You don't mind that I take her home?" she wondered.

"No Paige, I would mind if you didn't, you need to talk to her, I don't know if you will get the chance in the state that she's in" she said while watching her almost passed out on the front seat if not for the tapping of her fingers against the window "but It's worth a shot, just don't be late tomorrow" Nina then kissed her, sloppily but sweetly and headed back inside.

Paige stood there wondering how to make it right, she was happy to get a glimpse of the old Nina back, the Nina she fell in love with, it was true now with the planning of the wedding she became a little bit more stressed and cold but she was getting the old Nina back and she was half sure about her decision now.

She entered the car, put her seatbelt, and adjusted Emily's, and drove her to her temporary home. Getting her out of the car proved to be more difficult than she thought, but she managed just fine, getting her into her apartment and into her bed through the stairs was another thing, but at the end she got her in bed, she took the high heels from her feet and put the covers slowly onto her, afraid of waking her up, not knowing that Emily was wide awake until she was leaving and she felt a tug on her arm caused by surprisingly the strong hold of Emily.

"Paige I love you. I have never loved anyone like I love you, I tried I really did, but it was you, it is you. You've given me what I've searched for my entire life, since the moment I saw you again, you've giving me what I have always wanted, and I just want to be enough for you"

"You are Emily" Paige took a seat at Emily's side, she took Emily's hand and squeezed her, but Emily shook her head.

"I'm not, if I were then you wouldn't be marrying Nina" she told her sadly.

"You know you deserve it too, right?" Paige muttered and Emily tilted her head to the side.

She explained further "You deserve to be cared for, be loved and protected, you deserve to be happy" Paige studied her for a moment, watching the faltering in her expression again, as if sheltering for the next words that she knew Paige was going to utter, the words that held so much meaning back then and now even more.

"You deserve the best of everything too" she finished quietly.

Emily didn't trust her voice even if the tears were betraying her, she clung to Paige's hand as she let her words sink in. She felt the emotions rise almost unbearably high and mixing with her drunker state she managed to whisper an "I love you Paige" before finally succumbing to a fitful slumber.

Paige whispered an 'I love you too' to the already sleeping girl, a few tears cascaded onto the girl's head. When she was sure Emily was going to be fine she slowly stood up but Emily whispered unconsciously for her to stay with her and hold her and Paige couldn't say no, because maybe it was going to be the last time she held her.

* * *

It was morning, Paige knew it was morning because she could detect the brightness of the morning sun overpowering the dimming powers of the light that peered over the skylights, her eyes were firmly closed because she had been awake for the last fifteen minutes and unlike the time she had woken in the middle of the night.

She decided that if her eyes remained closed she could revel in the moment a little bit longer, she could replay the long night she had on her head, waking up when Emily woke up to go to the bathroom to throw up the alcohol in her system, everytime it happened she was disturbed by the hands that were almost instantly at her back grabbing her hair and not letting it get in her face when she emptied her stomach and after seeing that it was Paige she apologized, the same thing occurred four times now, but Paige feel satisfied and safe in the knowledge that she had been there, and that she helped her through all of the night.

She wondered how many times her friends did the same, and how many times it was her fault that she did it.

Paige knew it couldn't last forever, meaning to the moment, she thanked her lucky stars that they weren't wrapped around the other, awaking in a flurry of fumbling limbs and fumbling excuses, it wasn't like the night of the fourth of July, this was different, Emily was still drunk and she probably won't remember anything from last night.

Emily actually kept to her side of the bed, sleeping now soundlessly on her back in a stable position, she was in a deep slumber thankfully given from the multiple times she had woken up to go to the bathroom proving that she had a rough night.

Paige decided the next course of action was to get out of bed and maybe cook Emily some breakfast and then have a little talk when all of a sudden she saw the hour in the alarm clock that was beside her and she widened her eyes at how late she was.

She slowly stood up and this time she was successful when she didn't woke Emily, she was grabbing her things that she left at the end of the bed and her shoes that were scattered on the floor, she found them and breath out a sight of relieve, she stood at the other side of the bed watching Emily sleep, for a moment she thought about acting like a creep but she wanted to enjoy the last image of a peaceful Emily sleeping.

She was descending through the stairs when she heard a small gasp coming from the kitchen.

"Paige what are you doing here?" Hanna whispered, when she noticed that Paige didn't make any sound when she was upstairs. She imagined that she was sneaking out and worse doing the walk of shame given that she had her heels in her hands and smudged face, and the tiptoeing didn't help either.

"It's not what It looks like" Paige explained but seeing Hanna's smug face she blushed.

Hanna raised her hands in defense and didn't say much, she handed one of the coffees she made to her.

"How is she?" Hanna worriedly asked.

"She's…fine I guess" Paige responded, she felt her phone vibrating on her purse and she took it out and saw the first text of the morning, it was from Nina saying that she should be there in 30 minutes if she wanted to be presentable when her parents arrived.

"You're late" Hanna commented when she saw the little panicked look on Paige's face, she knew the plan for the day.

"I know, I have to…" she signaled the door and went to get her coat, Hanna followed silently and handed her the car keys "I will see you on Monday for the suit fitting appointment" she gave her a quick hug and went out the door.

Emily heard the soft click of the front door and she woke up. She heard some rustling downstairs but she figured it must have been one of her friends. Her answer was correct when she saw a sympathetic Hanna approach the bed with a glass of water in her hand and a pill on the other. She handed them to Emily who eagerly took them.

"So what happened last night?" Hanna broke the silence after a minute and Emily groaned while she covered her eyes with both of her hands, the wrong memories rushing back to her head like the millions of questions of that stupid game, or the stupid lingerie game she witness from afar and the numerous shots she took thanks to an eagerly bartender who understood her story when she told him that her ex was getting married and she was attending her bachelorette party.

"I don't remember that much" Emily groaned again.

"That's a shame I was hoping that you would tell me what was Paige doing here this morning" Hanna said smuggling. Emily struggled to understand what she was talking about when it dawned on her, Paige stayed over watching her and helping her through the though night, they talked, and she cried and everything flooded back in her memory and this time she let out a sigh.

"She fell asleep watching over me, she was worried about me" Emily told her with a small smile on her lips.

"She was, we all were" Hanna covered her hands gently and took them in both hands "How are you feeling?"

"Right now like if I was struck by lightning, I'm starting to have a headache, but other than that fine" when she glanced towards her friend, she knew that wasn't what she wanted to hear.

"I…she apologized, and that felt nice but I didn't get to say I'm sorry and that I respect her decision. I love her Hanna, and now if I have to be in her life as just friends then that's what I'll do, I don't want to lose her again" Emily explained now with a headache in full force.

"You could tell her tomorrow we're going to the fitting appointment she has or you could tell her at the rehearsal dinner" Hanna emphasized the word tomorrow as to say that it was maybe the last chance, because doing it on the rehearsal dinner wasn't a good idea, when she received a nod she plopped down completely onto Emily's bed, while softly caressing her belly she asked again what she remembered from the night before, she was living through her friends stories about the wild party.

They stayed there chatting when Spencer arrived and seconds later Aria who brought take out, they returned downstairs and joined their other two best friends on the living room and they chatted about everything and nothing that Sunday afternoon.


	24. Chapter 24

**_Disclaimer: I don't own most of the characters._**

**_A/N: Thank you for the follows and for the lovely reviews, and for everything really. _**

**_Flashbacks are in italics._**

* * *

The days were passing slowly and she felt that she didn't have any more time.

Emily parked her car outside the place where Paige was trying the final arrangements of her suit.

When she entered she bumped into Abbie and Carrie who were looking for different buttons cuffs that Paige needed.

"Emily, I'm glad you're here" Carrie smiled dearly, and hugged her, and Abbie patted her arms while also smiling, "she's in there" Abbie pointed out to the room that was separated with a big white curtain.

She stood at the other side, mentally preparing to seeing Paige in her suit, there was something that she loved about her in a suit, the first time she saw her was on the masquerade ball and it took her breath away, they were friends at the time but she remembered how she stopped herself from kissing her instantly when she saw her, then when they got together she practically begged Paige to wear a suit for the Halloween party, so when she saw her in her porch with a new suit she couldn't stop herself from kissing her passionately and trying to convince her to skip the party and go somewhere where she could have her way with her, of course they didn't missed the party although they arrived a little late because of the impromptu make out session she had with her in the parking lot and she obviously couldn't forget when she did have her way on one of the cabins of the train.

She shuddered at the inappropriate thoughts she was having and decided to suck it up and enter.

When she did she saw Paige in front of the full-length mirror, and she was speechless, the strong-shoulder black tuxedo jacket was impeccably tailored to whittle the waist and fit the lined pants and that was just her back, when she moved a little she could see Paige reflection through the mirror and the front had just a single-button closure and a white Givenchy sheer chiffon blouse, she kind of moaned softly when she saw her, she thought the sound she made was inexistent but Paige heard her.

"Have I told you I love seeing you in a suit" Emily confessed as she smiled at Paige who just gave her a knowing smirk, if the sound was any indication then she knew how much she loved her in a suit.

Deep down Paige was waiting for Emily to see her, she didn't know why, she wished she didn't thought that way, she was going to get married and she couldn't think about Emily.

"Well it's a tailored fit Alexander McQueen, it was destined for me so obviously everyone will love it" Paige smiled trying not to let Emily know that she was worried about Emily not liking the suit.

"Get over yourself it's not that great" Emily joked, she thought that she was breathtaking, she was trying not to stare but she was failing miserably.

Paige started to fumble with the collar of her jacket then she mumbled something about the buttons on her sleeve being in the wrong place without noticing that she misplaced them.

"So it's not perfect? Do you think hmm Nina would still like it?" Paige asked somewhat on the verge of having a little panic attack

"I was just kidding, yes Paige, Nina would love it"

Paige started to calm down from her slight panic attack and watched Emily close more of the distance still between them.

"Are you sure?" she asked again while Emily positioned herself in front of Paige and began to straightening and correcting her collar.

"Yes Paige, you look absolutely beautiful" Emily reached up and cupped Paige's cheek tenderly.

She stoked her thumb over Paige's smooth skin a couple of times before she moved her hand down to Paige's cheek. She leaned in and replaced her thumb with her lips as she kissed Paige cheek. She let it linger as she kept her mouth pressed to Paige's fair skin for a long moment. She broke the kiss and rested her forehead against Paige's before their lips gravitated toward each other.

"You look beautiful" Paige whispered.

Emily huffs out a little laugh, and Paige kisses her.

It's chaste and sweet and absolutely the worst idea she's had in a very long time, Emily leans forward and kisses her back, careful not to push any more than she has already. She shivers from the intense feeling, she doesn't move her hand from Paige's face or her lips from hers or from the way their noses bump against each other, her eyes drifting close and their hearts pounding in their chests like its right the amount of pressure of their heartbeats to be like that.

'Stop breaking things' Paige thinks to herself.

Things are certainly shattering now, she wasn't sure if she could run from where she belonged, heedless of the pain that she was about to inflict on one of the girls.

'No' she can't do this, she's hurting the people she loves, especially hurting Emily, all for a moment of weakness, she can't string her along, not when she's trying on the suit that she's going to wear at the end of the week for the most important day of her life, with the girl who's been by her side for four years, and the girl who she promised many things.

So she pulls back abruptly, Emily is flushed and wide-eyed and her lipstick is slightly smeared all over Paige's mouth and she can't stop staring and can't stop yearning, and couldn't stop from thinking that there's still a chance for them.

Paige closed her eyes at the intense feeling, she moved as a tear slips down her cheek and splashed onto the lapel of the wool and silk blend jacket that Emily was clingy to. She took a deep breath just as their lips were about to meet once again but she turned away the last second.

Emily's lips grazed the spot where Paige's cheekbone met her jawline and Emily's nose bumped into the shell of Paige's neck. She opened her eyes as soon as she felt Paige turn away and realized how tense the auburn haired girl had become under her touch. She pulled back with a gloomy sigh and looked at Paige.

Paige being Paige kept her head turned and avoided eye contact for as long as she could. Emily gently trapped Paige's chin between her fingers and carefully turned Paige to look at her.

"Please don't look away" Emily whispered.

When Paige looked at her after hearing those words, Emily immediately saw the tear track that stained her cheek.

"Please don't marry Nina" Emily whispered hoarsely

Paige's lips quivered and more tears fell.

Emily scrunched up her face to ward off the tears that threatened to spill from her own eyes at the heartbreaking feeling that this was the last chance she got to get her back but with no avail a few tears did fell from her eyes.

Paige shook her head and pulled away from Emily completely so that they no longer touched at all. She wiped away the tears and closed her eyes for a second.

"I think...I think I have to" Paige said without emotion.

Emily noticed the lack of the emotion behind the statement, she didn't mind at the moment that what Paige was telling her was that she had to marry Nina, and that was her decision, she chose to be in denial.

"You think?!" Emily scoffed.

Since Paige couldn't say anything Emily patiently continued "Paige why do you think you have to?" she didn't want to sound mean or rude, but her heart was shattered and she couldn't think of a better way than to lash out.

"I want...I can't break any more things and promises. You know my dad…he's buying us a house, he told me..."

"Your dad told you what Paige! That I'm not good enough but she is? That's why you are doing this...Stop doing what everybody wants! What do you want! You're so weak and I don't like what you've become, you-" Emily snapped.

"I think it's enough Emily" Carrie McCullers voice was strong but soft at the same time when she spoke to the couple in front of her, she was trying so hard not to meddle but when she heard Emily raise her voice she decided to step in, she didn't want their talk to escalate quickly into something like the other day, the soft blows of the other day fight still lingered on both of them and the same responses where due to come back again.

Emily looked mortified for having Paige's mom step in for her and extremely frustrated at the rate that Paige's decision was going, even though it was clear that she was still going to marry, she wished Paige wasn't.

"I'm sorry" Emily's voice was so small and apologetic, but her apology was more for Paige's mom. She just gives a small nod to Paige and goes out the door, leaving them alone.

When Emily was no longer near, Paige wiped the few tears remaining, and began to take off the jacket when Carrie stopped her.

"She's right mom" Paige said while a new set of tears were falling, she wished she was stronger.

"Honey-"

"She is!" Paige raised her voice, to which she received a small warning look from her mother for her to keep it down.

"What I was going to say honey is that maybe she is right, you need to stop doing what everybody wants, if you're doing this because you want to then you should let Emily know, if you don't want to do this then you should let Nina know now rather than later" She touched her cheek sweetly and adjusted the collar on the jacket.

"You look wonderful" Paige demeanor changed the instant she felt her mother's comforting words and the little motherly touches.

"Mom, I love her" she said vaguely.

"I know honey, I know" And Carrie knew too. She has always known, call it mother intuition.

"Would you mind if you search for Abbie I want her opinion" Paige asked, and her mother nodded. A few minutes alone she stared at the mirror reflection of herself, she looked good but she felt wrong, her thoughts were in a whirlwind and her emotions were too.

Emily reentered the room, more calmed down, she approached the side of the room where a big couch was perched, she sat down and stared at Paige who seemed lost in her thoughts.

"Paige?"

Startled by the voice, Paige only said "Yeah?"

"I'm really sorry"

Paige turned to look at her and she saw the corners of her eyes grow wet, she knew she was struggling with her own feelings, she was overwhelmed by hers. No matter what, she didn't like seeing Emily sad or angry because of her, and especially when it was her fault.

She moved and sat next to Emily, she wrapped an arm around her and puller her into her side. For the first time in four years, she actually didn't feel so completely distressed and conflicted, she knew that being with Emily was right but marrying Nina was the best option.

"I know Em, I'm sorry too, you know for everything, I didn't want to put you in this position"

"In what position?" she asked, not knowing what she was referring to.

Paige motioned the room with her hands and with her head motioning to her clothes. Finally understanding Emily chuckled wiping the corner of her eyes before saying "It's my job".

"Yeah, but I'm not saying that" Paige mumbled.

"Care to explain?"

"I wish I could but I can't" Paige conceded. Emily didn't want to press further so she waited for her to be ready to explain.

"So your dad is buying you a house, how was it?" Emily changed the subject, and Paige stood up and began pacing the room while she told her what happened the day before.

* * *

_"You're late" Nina reprimanded her._

_"I know, I know, I'm sorry" Paige apologized, she was about to take off her coat when she realized that she was wearing the dress from last night so she decided to keep it. Nina raised her eyebrow trying to see through her actions when Paige explained "I didn't have time to change"_

_Mouthing an "oh" Nina fixed the collar of Paige's coat, while smiling softly._

_Paige pecked her lips and signaled with her head for them to go inside of what it looked like a mansion. She extended her hand and Nina took it, intertwining their hands._

_The enormous house was a bit too much for Paige's liking and it seemed for Nina too, it was destined for a big family, Nina made it clear that she didn't want kids and Paige respected the idea, but along the way she did wanted a big family and Nina promised that she was going to think about it._

_Sometimes it felt too planned, the life they were going to live. _

_Nina started to feel it too, so when they reached the foyer of the house for the second time, Nina decided to get some time alone with her fiancée._

_"I like it but it's a bit too much don't you think?" Nina remarked._

_Paige nodded but she couldn't deny that it was going to be perfect in a couple of years too._

_"Yeah, but in a couple of years we're not going to be alone" Paige commented and Nina rolled her eyes and with a shake of her head "Paige-" she began. Paige smile faltered knowing what was coming next, "I'm really trying but…" now her speech faltered, she didn't want to tell her that she was pretty sure that they weren't in the same page anymore, with the house, with the wedding, with their relationship._

_But she wouldn't let it show so she tried a different approach "do you see yourself in this house with me alone for another 10 years from now on?" Nina asked, carefully watching her reaction which remained pensive but slightly doubtful. "I guess…"_

_"Paige, this is a yes or no answer, do you?" Nina was more firm._

_"No" she whispered._

_"Why is that?"_

_"Because if it's going to be just us for another ten years then I would prefer to stay at our apartment" Paige explained._

_"Exactly my point" Nina commented, a shy grin slowly appearing._

_"So what now?" Paige asked._

_"You have to tell your dad that we will think about it" Nina explained._

_"Why me?" Paige pouted and Nina laughed, she was always the one to deliver the news._

_"Because you didn't come home last night" Nina tilted her head as if expecting Paige to fight her, but when she saw Paige looking down to the floor as if regretful she squished her hand softly._

_"Nina I-"_

_"No no, you don't have to explain, I understand. How is she?"_

_"Nothing happened" was her immediate response, "I mean yeah, nothing happened, she…she had a rough night"_

_"I can imagine, I thought that she could handle her liquor like me" Nina snickered, their conversation was cut by Nick's knocking on the door._

_"So what do you think girls, is it perfect or what"_

_Nina playfully elbowed Paige for her to tell him their thoughts, and Paige narrowed her eyes at her, "Dad, we like it, but we don't think it's appropriate for the moment"_

_"Why not?" Nick stubbornly asked, it was one of the things that Paige inherited from him, his stubbornness._

_"We find it unnecessary, given that it's only us, and this is a mansion dad" Paige explained, getting annoyed by her father, and even more when he asked Nina if she could see if Carrie wasn't planning on buying the house for the moment, when she left them, he turned to speak to her daughter._

_"This is because of Emily isn't it?"_

_Paige let out a groan and rolled her eyes "No, dad it isn't" she huffed impatiently._

_"Then what is it, the only thing that comes to mind, is that you're not so sure that you want to spend the rest of your life with Nina"_

_Well he wasn't far from the truth but Paige was convinced that she wasn't venturing into that road again, she made her choice, well sort of, but deep down she knew that he was right._

_"Seriously dad, we thought that it would be too much, and we are happy where we live, and Nina doesn't want any kids in the near future but when she does then we will see then our options"_

_Nick seemed to consider this and spoke deliberately "Could you think that Nina doesn't see a future with you anymore, because of the problems you have because of that girl?"_

_Paige didn't thought about that, she was sure about Nina, but could Nina not be so sure anymore, given that she knew Paige even better than she knew herself, and knew the dilemma she was having, before all of this happened. _

_Nina apart from Abbie was her best friend, she understood her like no one else, their passion for work, the passion for little things and the driven personality they both had, was what brought them together in the first place._

_It looked like the Nina she once knew was nowhere near, since the planning of the wedding, but maybe her insecurities and the problems they were having because of Emily was making her different, and she didn't feel good about that, now she was more hurt about the way she was treating Nina and even neglecting her, and she vowed once more to change that._

_"I don't know Dad" she answered dejectedly._

_"Well I'm going to make an offer on this place, either way you better fix it, I mean it" she warned her, and she nodded._

* * *

"It was good" was her short answer, Emily was about to fish for more but they heard Abbie outside the curtains talking to her mother before she stopped and asked "Are you guys decent?" they heard Carrie laugh when she entered the room followed by Abbie who was covering her eyes for more dramatic effect.

The girls chuckled and Paige uncovered her eyes, she rolled her eyes when Abbie smirked at her, then in all seriousness she slowly looked at her in her suit, she smiled softly and nodded her head in approval.

"You look beautiful Paige" her best friend said. Paige let out a sigh of relieve and stood again in front of the mirror.

"She does" commented Emily, which brought a small smile in Paige

Her mother nodded in agreement "That she does, so what's next"

* * *

The next thing to do was the rehearsal dinner, Paige stood by Nina's side the entire time, greeting guests who arrived earlier and those who arrived minutes before dinner was served.

One of those guests was Spencer with Toby who came back for the wedding and of course Emily, they looked impeccable and so good. The other couple beat them because Caleb had an obligation as best man and Hanna to see if everything was under control.

"Emily I'm glad you could make it" Nina remarked and went to greet the couple.

"Hey, thanks for coming" Paige said awkwardly, and Emily faked a smile.

"You look good" Emily pointed out. Paige was wearing a sequin lace short black dress, she nodded softly before meeting her eyes but Emily avoided hers.

More people arrived and soon they were all cheering for the couple to give a toast.

After the meal, they stood by the pool when Nina wanted to say a couple of words, Paige was by her side, they looked like they were glued the whole night.

It wasn't an unconscious decision, Paige was terrified of what she was feeling, she thought that if she was even a minute apart from Nina she would crumble and cancel the wedding, it was somewhat a nerve wracking week, starting from the open house thing and then the suit fitting, then Paige sleeping in another room and she didn't even knew why, then this morning practicing the entrance, the vows, the ceremony itself for the wedding that was one day away and then this moment, she was standing right beside Nina as she gave her short but meaningful speech.

She couldn't feel more conflicted.

"We are grateful for everyone's presence here, we are happy that we can share this night and tomorrow with the most important people in our lives, I know that I'm speaking from both of us when I say that the road to love is never easy, but it's worth every single day, well ours wasn't easy, but we managed to understand each other, respect each other and mostly love each other through all. Sometimes love comes in the most unexpected places and unexpected people and in unexpected times, and when you really have it, then you have to hold on to it. Paige I want you to know that no matter what happens today or tomorrow morning I will always love you with all my heart" she said giving her a meaningful look, that nobody understood except a couple of people Emily included who gasped softly, and then she continued

"You are my best friend, we spent four years learning how to love and stand each other, and I could never forget what you've given me all this time, I wish I didn't knew how this will end-" after seeing the confusion on everyone's faces including her fiancée she quickly added, knowing that it wasn't the best time to say what she really wanted to say, "I mean don't we all?" she laughed "but I know that I will have you by my side for the rest of my life…so cheers everybody, and thank you again for coming", everyone cheered, and Paige after drinking her glass kissed her, modestly of course, but it still took their breaths away, but something lingered behind that kiss, and both deep down could pinpoint that it was maybe one of the last kisses they would share, because they weren't meant to be.

"How can you top that for your vows?" Paul asked while giving a hug to her daughter as Hayley hugged Paige.

"How can I?" Paige commented while hugging Paul too, then her parents took turns hugging them and Carrie took Nina away for a second "You know" she simply said and Nina nodded, and she hugged her again. It took everything in Carrie to not smack some sense in her daughter, knowing that Nina was truly an amazing girl, and she hoped they would still be friends, after what was coming next.

Then their friends and family came and congratulated them and wished them good luck for tomorrow, the party was still on for at least another two hours but the brides were scheduled to rest earlier.

They were about to leave when Emily approached the couple, silently asking if she could talk to Paige for one last time, Nina nodded softly and gave Paige a quick kiss and left. Paige thought that she was going to her room but Nina had other ideas and left the hotel altogether.

"Paige, I'm not coming tomorrow…I" she faltered, she needed to get it together but it proved to be more difficult than thought it would be. "I can't…" after Paige's sad nod she cupped her cheeks with both of her hands, when she dipped her head "Please look at me"

"Look I know you're marrying Nina, I get that you picked her, even though I hate it, I get it. The time we had this couple of weeks, it was everything to me, it was amazing, please know I love you with all that I am, I probably always will and if friends is all there is for us then I want that because…" she paused for a moment and swallowed hard, "you deserve the best of everything" she then turned and left. She left her heart and the girl who had it.

The moment her hands left her face and walked out, Paige felt like she couldn't breathe, she then knew what she had to do, she couldn't stand to see the love of her life walking away from her anymore, she made that mistake a long time ago and she's not doing it again.

She loves her and she hasn't stopped, with her she has the best of everything.

She goes to Caleb who thankfully was chatting with Toby and Abbie and without the girls in sight.

"Caleb I-"

"I know Paige, just go already" Caleb smiled.

"We got this" Abbie explained.

She then goes unnoticed by everybody, to her car and then starts driving, she drives aimlessly until she knows that she's not driving aimlessly for a long time, she was sure she drove for like 2 hours, she knew which road she was taking and she knew where she was going and she couldn't be more sure of her decision, she only needed some time to breathe and get herself together before pouring out her heart to the same girl who constructed and broke it so many times before.

* * *

Emily was still crying, but she decided not to drink, in the kitchen table laid a couple of bottles of every assortment she bought and some of that she stole from the party, after leaving the party she was making time trying not to go home in case her friends where there waiting to console her, but then she decided that if she was going to get through this then at least she was going to have her best friends by her side.

So she went home, relieve flood through her for a second when no one was around, but then she felt empty and lonely, so that's why she was in such predicament and she was about to succumb to have one drink when she heard a knock on the door, she didn't want to get her hopes up in case it was one of her friends but her heart rate was increasing by the minute thinking that maybe just maybe Paige was there, and so she was slowly making her way to the door, trying to fight the tears again but with no avail she opened the door.

"Nina?"

"We need to talk, is she here?" Nina asked searching with her eyes the room in front of her, Emily seeing that Nina didn't believed her when she said no, she motioned her to come in and she did, she went straight to the living room and sat.

"So she's not here?" she asked again

"No"

"Okay"

Emily went to the kitchen to now retrieve the drinks that they now both needed if they were going to have the talk, she poured a big amount in both glasses and returned to the living room, where she handed one of the tumblers of scotch to Nina, she gave her a small nod and took a big sip, her glass now half empty.

Emily was growing impatient now that the silence was becoming unbearable.

"I'm tired and you have to be up in a couple of hours for your wedding so-"

"Do you love her? Emily, do you love Paige?" Silence was all she heard so she insisted "Do you love her?" she tried one more time and she almost spat the words, she was restless and all she wanted to do was cry and sleep.

"Yes"

"Emily…"

"Nina, we do not have to do this, I understand it, it's your wedding day, we don't have to-"

"I just…Look I wasn't going to come here, but I need to know, when I was doing the toast, the part where I said that the road to love wasn't easy is true and I've seen it, with you and Paige, I knew the moment I saw you together. Emily, she loves you, I really don't know why she keeps insisting that she wants to marry me" She said with a sad chuckle, and Emily truly regretted then how she acted, she didn't think of the consequences of her acts, she didn't factor Nina when she decided to break them, she wanted Paige but she didn't thought about Nina and her suffering.

"Nina, I'm really sorry about everything if I could take it all back I-"

"No Emily, don't say that, I know you're sorry, but here's the thing I don't regret anything, what I've done has brought me to Paige, you know, I don't want Paige to regret something for the rest of her life, and knowing that I could've done something to help her and didn't, that would be my regret so that's why I'm doing it, do you realize that I'm doing this for her? I don't want you to regret what you've done. That's one thing we have in common, we do whatever it takes to get what we want, but we should work on that"

The gravity of the moment wasn't lost on either of them. The moment stretched on but the silence was not unwanted anymore.

"I love her more than anything in the world so that's why I want what's best for her, I don't want to live with regrets and I don't want her to do it either. Emily you can never let her go, do you understand me?"

"Yes" Emily found her voice not quivering, not for a second, she was lost for words but she was sure of what she felt.

"Paige is the most amazing girl I've ever met. Emily if you ever break her heart I swear" Nina threatened her.

"I won't Nina, I promise" Emily's promise was enough and Nina thought it was time to leave and do what she thought it was the right thing to do and what she wanted to do for a long time now. Call off the wedding.

Nina was keeping herself together, she couldn't break down in front of Emily, she didn't want to appear weak even though the circumstances would consider her to be vulnerable. She entered her car and waited, somehow she knew sooner or later Paige would appear, some part of her wished that she didn't, and that being with her was actually what Paige wanted, but she surely knew her.

* * *

She was jittery with nerves and couldn't keep her legs still. She tried crossing them and swore when she knocked her knee against the steering wheel. She pinned her eyes on the glowing outline of Emily's apartment door building.

Her grip on the steering wheel was leaving her hands white and then even more when she saw Paige leaving her car, she strode along the sidewalk purposefully, her chin up and her fist by her sides. Nina sucked in a sharp breath, and a sudden pain squeezed at her chest.

This was it, now she knew what she needed to do, and quickly. She let a few tears fall until she wiped them and started the car, finally going to a destination.

Starting a new life.

* * *

A sudden and desperately nock on her door brought her back from her thoughts, now was not the time, she needed some alone time to think about what's been said, and what she should do next, a million thoughts crossed her mind, thinking that maybe it was Nina telling her that it was all a joke and that she only wanted to laugh at her, but she knew better than to think that way, or maybe her friends where at the other side who surely were worried about her disappearance from the party, knowing that she was going through the most difficult night of her life.

But what she wasn't prepared for it was seeing Paige at the other side of the door, breathing heavily and almost a desperate look on her face when Emily took her time answering the door.

"Paige I-" she didn't even finish her sentence since Paige kissed her, and she kissed her with all she had, Emily fell into the kiss with ease, kissing Paige back just as hard, just as deep. She had to fight hard against the urge to take her right into the staircase and into her room, she had to fight the need to touch her, to feel her body against her own once again.

Emily let Paige dictate the pace they took and just how far they went, whether it stayed just as it was or went further than just a kiss, without them talking at all.

Kissing Emily meant she thought of nothing else in that very moment, and for a long time she wanted to do just that, she just allowed herself to become lost in the feel of Emily's lips and tongue against her own, this time kissing Emily meant a lot more than just a kiss like they shared so many times in the past month. Now kisses weren't a barrier any more, their feelings weren't what stood between them, of course they had to talk first if they wanted that kind of liberty, but first, they needed that kiss.

It was different than before, much different, and Emily couldn't quite put her finger on just why that it was, of course she knew that Paige was there because she finally decided to be with her, but a big part on her mind was telling her that maybe just maybe it was like Hanna pointed out a week ago, she was there for a last hurrah, knowing that a great girl was waiting for her tomorrow.

Emily for the first time saw, what everybody sees in Nina, a girl who loves Paige and deserves her, but she deserves Paige too.

Emily just focused on the kiss, on the way her lips felt against her own and the strong yet insistent way Paige's tongue swirled with her own without restrictions.

The kiss itself was riddled with heavy and intense passion, slow and deep and sure, and soon enough they were walking backwards to the couch.

"Paige" Emily said in one half breath, trying to catch her breathing was proving to be difficult when all she wanted was to never stop kissing her, and now even more when Paige pouted.

Paige understood and sat down on the sofa. Emily decided to have another drink for the conversation that was going to be held. Emily poured herself and Paige each a glass of whiskey by Paige's request of something much stronger than wine or beer. Emily had sat at one end of the leather sofa and surprisingly to the raven haired girl, Paige scooted to stay next to her.

"Can we just talk about anything other than weddings, decision or anything related" Paige asked, Emily was not sure about her request but nodded softly, having her there was better than not having her at all.

* * *

Emily laughed again for the hundredth time since Paige arrived, she leaned back into the sofa and more into the brunette. Paige's arm, which was resting along the top of the sofa, her hand was a twitch away from Emily's hair but after telling herself that she had to stop pretending that she couldn't or didn't want to touch her, she began to stroke her hair. A few moments of comfortable silence passed, until Emily tilted her head to face Paige as she began to say something

"When I was with Nina I always felt protected and safe, I spent years worrying about mostly about you, about our safety and that took the fun out of life, so in a way when I was with Nina I felt safe, it was intense and that's what I needed then. I didn't know what I wanted, what felt good, but then she came and I thought I found everything, but I started to realize with time that something was missing but it-"

"It hurts" Emily finished for her, resting her head in Paige's shoulder. "If the person you're with isn't someone you want, it hurts"

"Nina never hurt me," Paige explained, resting her head in Emily's head "she helped me a lot, she guided me through a lot of things, she let me discover feelings I thought I never experience again but somehow-" Paige paused, taking a desperate breath as she look down to see Emily's face "I didn't stop loving you."

"I know you don't want to talk about what I'm about to tell you, but I'm confused, what are you doing here"

Paige laughed, she thought that it was clear, the moment she stood outside her door. Emily couldn't figure out her laugh.

"I thought it was obvious" Paige explained, and even more when she kissed the top of her head.

Emily couldn't stop herself and kissed her cheek then her chin and finally her lips, their tongues met, slow and hungry and before she could continue Emily stopped her, everything could wait until Paige let out everything she wanted to say, and she did.

"Why?" Emily was beyond thrilled and happy, and she couldn't quite contain the few happy tears. Paige wiped them.

"Emily, there wasn't a day that I haven't thought about you, I just thought that you were my past, all those years that I didn't saw you or didn't hear from you directly I couldn't get you out of my mind, but you came back and you became my present, all that I could think about was you, and I don't think that I can see my future without you by my side"

Paige knew that she made the right decision when she saw Emily smile, her heart warmed and skipped a beat when her smile turned into a relieved laugh, and she bombarded her with pecks and kisses.

"It sure took you long enough!" Emily playfully smacked her arm, and Paige grimaced, not because of the hit but because she knew she took her time, but she was so confused.

"I'm sorry" Emily noticed that her comment wasn't as playful as she thought.

"I'm the one who should be sorry, I was mostly scared of giving you a chance and losing Nina, but remember what I said the day at the beach, where you told me you wanted me? Remember what I told you" Paige asked, after a doubtful nod from Emily she continued "I told you that I can't stand to see you walk away from me, and tonight you did, I felt like I couldn't breathe, knowing that you weren't coming back, so it was more easy for me to figure out that I could stand everything that will happen tomorrow or the day after if you were with me rather than not being with you and possibly not seeing you for a very long time or maybe ever"

Emily's smile was contagious and Paige smiled too, savoring the feeling of relieve and contentment.

"I love you so much Paige" Emily gently squeezed her thigh in a gesture that was that of understanding. Paige swallowed thickly, now feeling the building sexual tension between them, after her confession and the way that Emily told her that she loves her, the only words that she needed to hear from Emily tonight were already in the air.

Their eyes met as they both sipped the last of their whiskey, Paige moving to take Emily's glass and placed them both down on the table. She inhaled with a shuddery breath and casually draped her arm again around the back of the sofa, her eyes never leaving Emily's as they admired each other's faces, the outlines, the small and almost not visible wrinkles, the perfect curved upwards mouth's, the way that their eyes screamed happiness and everything in between.

It was now Emily who made the first move, leaning in and capturing Paige's lips in a slow yet sensual kiss. She tangled a hand into Paige's hair, her fingers gently kneading the back of her head as she pulled her in, impossible closer, deepening the kiss, after a few minutes they stopped but they kept their heads together.

"Are you staying the night?" Emily hopefully asked.

After so much thought Paige nodded "I still need to talk to Nina in the morning"

Emily stood first and signaled the room upstairs with her head, and Paige followed, they were mid trough in the stairs when Emily turned and Paige caught her hand, pulling Paige into her, and she kissed her, it was slow and tentative and felt like it could go on forever, she backed her against the railing, they giggled as they separated, clearly remembering the same situation they were in on the fourth of July.

"Let's get you in bed" Emily suggests, and Paige raises her eyebrow. "Not in that way, unless…"

Paige nods and softly whispers a 'no' and Emily smiled understanding her possible reasons. It was okay, they had plenty of nights to reintroduce and rediscover that part of their relationship. Emily was just happy to have Paige now and forever.

* * *

Emily had been staring up at the skylight, and part of the ceiling, barely visible in the dark of the early morning that filled the bedroom, she couldn't sleep, or rather she woke up everytime she thought that maybe she was dreaming, dreaming about the heavy warmth that covered her torso, weighting her down, anchoring her to the messy tangle of bed sheets. Paige's skin or part of her skin that wasn't covered by the jersey that Emily lent her for sleep was stuck pleasantly to hers as the auburn haired girl slept, she was draped across her torso, she stroked Paige's back, smiling slightly every time the girl shivered in her sleep, and making her know that she wasn't dreaming at all.

There was a crick in her neck from lying in one position for too long, forced into it by Paige's face that was borrowed into her neck, her even breathing tickling across the skin of Emily's throat, she had insisted on being as close to Paige as humanly possible as they laid kissing, until Paige had fallen asleep just before four o'clock marked on the vintage clock, then slowly she closes her eyes and the next time she opens them she's fighting the light that was flooding the bedroom.

She realizes that it was still early for her to be awake but she took it as an opportunity given that she was not alone so she woke up long before the girl in her arms, she wanted to enjoy the feeling of being with her finally.

She didn't want Paige to wake up just yet, but she needed to get out of the bed so she got up quietly trying to detach herself from the strong grip that she had on her, she successfully managed to get out of bed without waking her up.

She began to cook breakfast and decided to do pancakes for Paige's sweet tooth.

* * *

Paige on the other hand, woke up feeling confused as she watched the room she was in and for a moment she panics because it wasn't the hotel room she was supposed to sleep in and it's certainly not her room and it's not her bed either.

But when she finally remembers she smiles to herself and stretches out along to Emily's side of the bed, feeling it empty she grabs Emily's pillow, burying her nose into the fabric and sighing contently. 'This is definitely creepy' she thinks, she puts the pillow back to its place and begins to wonder, when she sees that it was seven am she groans as she knows that she needs to leave to have a long talk with Nina.

How does a person cancel the wedding on the day itself? How do you tell the person that you love that you don't want to share a romantic future with them? How could she soften the blow to the one girl who never hurt her, not intentionally, and who didn't deserve it?

She should've done it, the first day that she knew that she still loved Emily. She should have told Nina that they couldn't work it out because she loved someone else. She should have done so many things, but there was no time to regret. She has to do it.

She has to stop the wedding.

Paige changed back into the dress and grabbed her heels, it was the second time she did that in Emily's apartment, but this time the girl will get to see her leave and would have to wait for her to come back.

She stood by the stairs watching Emily smile while she cooked.

Emily was taking a moment to sample the mixture from the tip of the spoon before walking back over to the bowl that obviously contained the bulk of the concoction. She poured a small puddle of batter laced with blackberries into a pan, and then into a plate with a stack of aligned pancakes.

Emily must have heard her when she was changing upstairs, because her line of vision was spot on to where she was. She smiled softly and pointed with the spatula to the fresh bash of pancakes.

"As much as I want one, I should probably go" Paige explained, grabbing the coat she left on one of the chairs in the kitchen.

Emily's smile fell completely. She was confused for a moment, until Paige simply kissed her temple and left with a quick promise of coming back.

After Paige left, Emily decided to distract herself and eat what she had made, but her appetite was gone the minute Paige left, she was too anxious and too nervous to eat and even drink not until she had Paige again, her insecurities and her wandering thoughts didn't help her at all but, she was sure that Paige will keep her promise and come back.

* * *

Paige raced to the hotel praying that Nina hadn't left yet, she knew that Nina was an early riser and punctual in all aspects, so when she knocked on her door and heard a 'come in' she felt relieved but also incredible nervous and on the verge of crumbling down to tears.

What surprised her more was that Nina was on her eyelet lace cami pj set and on the grace driftwood bench in front of a large table that held a large mirror.

"You know its bad luck to see the bride before the wedding"

"Well that's if you are in your wedding gown" Paige commented and whispered to herself 'thank god you're not'

Nina saw Paige through the mirror and noticed the clothes better yet the dress that she wore the day before, for the rehearsal.

Nina knew why she was there but she really was hoping that it wouldn't be the day of their wedding the time that Paige finally got the courage to speak to her and to let her know what she really wants.

"You look like you haven't slept in days" Nina noticed when she saw Paige tired eyes.

"I finally get some sleep yesterday"

"Should I ask why, or should I ask thanks to whom…" after a particular silence she continued "you know I went to see her last night" that got her a surprised face from Paige who was lost for words even though she had the whole speech thing in her head but Nina continued "I thought you were there but you weren't, but then when I was leaving I saw you"

Paige sits down on the couch closest to where Nina was.

"You're not here to tell me you've reconsidered" she says, leaning back to the table.

Paige shakes her head. Nina takes her engagement ring out of her hands and says "I believe this belongs to you" and Paige refuses to take it, she instead holds her hands, she can feel the ring and the weight of it against her palm.

"Nina I don't know where to begin" Paige says slowly.

"I knew since you first saw her again, properly in her office that you still loved her. I could see it in your eyes when you spoke of her, and when I saw you with Emily the day of the dinner I knew again, but I kept telling myself that it was just wedding jitters and you were doubting everything and that it was normal, I remained with you even when I could see that you weren't happy. I attributed it all to your feelings for her that you were in a place that I could win you over in time if I played my cards right, but I know we just drifted apart" she sighed "I should have tried to make you happy instead of going crazy for the wedding and neglecting you and what you were going through, and well you didn't put much effort too, and it was too late, I was too late to change it" Nina explained.

"Nina you didn't do anything wrong, it's just…I-" Paige tried to explain, but words weren't coming.

"You what Paige?" Nina pried and asked after when Paige couldn't find words to describe her feelings "Do you love me?"

"I do" Paige said sincerely, staring into her blue eyes. Nina could see that Paige wasn't lying.

"Do you love her?"

Paige just nodded like it was a simple answer that she couldn't give verbally.

"Are you in love with her?"

"I…Yes" Paige gulped, she saw Nina flinch for a second before she composed herself.

"Look Nin, loving you brought me back to life, you show me how life goes on after heartbreak, and in those times it was more like a thousand heartbreaks. You helped me find parts of me that I'd thought I'd locked away forever, and you changed me, but Emily just"

"But loving Emily?" Nina asks tiredly, like she doesn't want to hear the answer because she knows it already. "How did that change you?"

"I guess it didn't" Paige says, her lips curling into something between a smile and a grimace.

"She made me see that I'm still the girl who fell in love with her in high school and made me realize that I'm stronger and I can make my own decisions, and that I could do whatever I want to"

Nina watched her intently, like she's about to suggest something but she shakes her head almost imperceptibly. Didn't she let her made her own decisions? When Nina thought about the question that run into her mind she saw the mistake there, 'she didn't have to let her, she was her own person' and she understood what Paige was saying.

"Nina, you're one of my best friends and I love you so much and I think I forever will. I would still like to be a part of your life, if you allow it, I don't want to lose you"

"Of course" Nina says simply, because she wants to be a part of her life too "I called of the wedding already you don't need to worry" Nina put on a brave face "Although you have to worry about your dad, he's so pissed…"

"I…you…I'm….what?"

"You were always so eloquent" Nina smiled through the tears that formed little by little and got up from the bench and stood in front of her, she grabbed Paige face that was now covered in tears.

"I love you so much Paige, and I know that we could've worked out if you hadn't seen Emily again but a part of me always knew that eventually it would all have come apart, I know you love me but you said so yourself you are in love with her, she…she loves you too and I know she will be very lucky to have you, I just wished you wouldn't do this on the day of our wedding but here we are, and all I can tell you is that I truly want what's best for you and now I know that I'm not it, I understand but now I want you to understand me, it's going to take a while for me to forgive you but I think I will eventually do, because Paige you are an amazing girl and lover but you are even more amazing as a friend, and I don't want to lose you ever, and I meant every word I said yesterday night…so how about you return to her and just be happy, I know that you probably left her wondering what were you going to do, so take her out of her misery and go"

"What?" Paige asked, she was too confused to keep up.

"Is this what you want?" Nina had to be sure.

Paige blinked "Sorry?"

"Being with Emily, is that what you want?" Nina repeated.

Paige looked down at her entwined hands. The answer was painfully simple.

"Yeah, it is"

"Then what are you still doing here?" Paige only saw Nina smile sweetly almost like nothing happened, she knew her better than that, she knew she was just only waiting for her to leave to leave the charade behind.

"You…you think I should go now?" she glanced over at the door, Paige didn't want to, she wanted to stay and console her, but she knew eventually Nina will be fine, she was one of the strongest girls she has ever known, but that didn't take that she only wanted to make her feel better and not feel heartbroken like she was for her.

"Yes" Nina ground out, rolling her eyes, "Hmm you should watch out for your dad" Nina laughed and when she stood up and extended her hand for Paige to take it, she did, and they embraced each other, the hug felt stiff but warm and new and without looking back Nina stopped the embrace and turned to the bathroom where she entered quickly, carefully closing the door and turning the shower on, letting her emotions hit her as hard as the water falling down on the shower and that was Paige's cue to leave.

Paige stood there for a couple of seconds before whispering a goodbye and then she left.

* * *

Paige arrived at Emily's building, once she'd killed the engine, Paige rubbed her clammy palms against her jeans, she fixed and reapplied her makeup, her eyes squeezed close and her breath escaped heavily from her nose once she was done, she waited for calmness to return to her.

After a few moments, she realized that her nerves had been replaced, and now relieve was flooding through her. Her eyes snapped back open, and the only thought now was, finally she could be with Emily, she missed her, she missed Emily so much that the knot in her stomach felt more like a gunshot wound.

She jumped out of the car, slammed the door shut, rather gently because her car was a valued possession, she charged down the path for the second time that morning, if you count that it was 1 am when she went to Emily's house.

This time, it was different, she was going to be happy, she didn't knock, it was open, like she knew it would be.

She halted in the doorway when she saw Emily leaning against the counter of the kitchen, almost exactly in the same position where she left her.

She waited for her.

As soon as the door opened, Emily's head snapped up, she swallowed. The anxiety and relief was evident on Emily's face, she looked up at the auburn haired girl that had suddenly and finally stormed through her kitchen door and stood only inches away from her.

Paige saw the first sign of a smile on Emily's lips, she glanced back up from Emily's parted lips to look into her eyes. Her hand slowly reached out to tuck a strand of dark silky hair behind her ear.

"I love you"

With a single sentence the wait grew too much, and Emily fell forwards, her hands reaching up to grasp hold of the sides of Paige's face. Their lips crushed against one another as Paige pushed Emily backwards pinning her body hard against the counter. Her hands cupped the back of Emily's neck as she kissed her, more urgently and desperately than she'd ever kissed her before, her tongue sliding between lips that were too eager to take it. Emily moaned into her mouth, reaching out to tug at Paige's coat, pulling her as close against her straining body as possible.

Paige was the first to pull away from the kiss and leaned her forehead against Emily's, her hands holding tightly onto either side of her neck.

"I love you too"

* * *

Emily stayed awake, running the last few months and specially the night before through her mind and how much everything had changed.

She didn't know what to expect when she finally decided to get herself together and go for the love of her life. The tiny problem was that she was engaged, at first she decided not to do something and let her be happy, but she saw that she wasn't happy as she should be, so she stayed and fought for her, day's turned into weeks and she was running out of time, she slowly accepted the fact that she couldn't do anything and the only thing that remained was to watch her be happy with someone else, then they were kissing, there where fireworks, conversations and laughter and a tinny door of hope opened, but then again it wasn't easy, at the end it was her leaving her that changed everything and Paige decided that she couldn't watch her leave, their love won and even through the years it remained as the best thing in their lives.

They lay side by side in bed, neither of them moved or talked, they stopped talking and they were just enjoying the silence and each other's faces.

Emily leans in closer to Paige until her nose is brushing against her. Their eyes lock onto one another's in an intense stare, someone they don't care who, closes the gap between them, for the tenth time that night.

The moment their lips touched, they both saw stars, Paige puts her arms around Emily's back to pull her closer, holding her in place. Emily's palms Paige's cheeks lovingly, caressing the girl's face with the pad of her thumb. Paige deepens the kiss, and it becomes passionate, their tongues brushing softly against one another, and it lasted for a while, a long while.

They stopped eventually, trying to get their breathing back to normal, their eyes slowly flutter open, locking onto one another's gaze, their faces flushed but showing so much love.

Emily smiled, shifting so that her legs tangled with Paige's as she rested her head onto her shoulders.

Paige turned at the shift and returned Emily's smile, adding a light kiss to the top of her head.

Their fingers lacing through the spaces until they connected instinctively, their hands squeezing in reassurance to remind the other that they were there, finally together, and possibly for the rest of their lives.

**The End**

* * *

Okay technically the epilogue is next...I hope you guys liked it! Thank you for everything!


	25. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Emily's first birthday party with Paige since they were back together lasted into late night.

Nina was one of the last few people to leave the party and Paige walked her out, the two now friends walked down to the street to where Nina's car was.

"Thanks again for coming" Paige spoke softly, nudging her shoulder as they walked. "Are you sure you're okay to drive?"

"I'll be fine. I'm always fine Paige" Nina rolled her eyes at her friend. She was always worried about her.

Their relationship was so different now, it took time, nearly a year before they became accustomed to the other in terms of their friendship, it was true what Nina said to her the day of their wedding, she was going to learn to forgive her someday and that day came and she did, she couldn't hold grudges to the girl who changed her life in so many ways, and she was more than happy to see her in love and happy, not in the way she was with her but somehow she knew it was right that she was with Emily.

She was brought back to their current talk when Paige noted "It's a long drive"

"It's okay Paige, and even if it was a long drive I wouldn't want to ruin your proposal" she reminded.

"Are you sure I'm doing the right thing?" She asked guiltily.

"Hey" she wrapped her chin with her fingers lightly "Don't worry about it, she's going to say yes, I know it. Just make sure she doesn't propose to you at the same time, or suddenly one of your exes comes into the picture, that could bring some trouble, you don't have any more exes that we should know about right?" she joked, and Paige genuinely smiled and replied "Well there was-" she stopped when Nina punched her slightly in the arm for her joke, they broke into laughter.

They lingered by the open driver's seat, and Paige could feel a whirlwind of emotions fighting one another to dominate her state of mind.

She was indescribably happy yet nervous and doubtful of Emily's response to her upcoming proposal, and it was making her dizzy.

She caught Nina's eye and she held it for a second before she motioned with her head to herself and opened her arms with a warm grin. Paige rolled her eyes, and stepped into her embrace.

Nina hugged her tightly and whispered into her ear "You got it Paige, she loves you, you love her, this is the right thing, it took you long enough but you're finally are where you're supposed to be, take care of yourself and Emily" she ordered gently, she smiled when Paige pulled back, her eyes watery but she composed herself for the mini panic attack and nodded.

"Thank you Nin" Nina slid into the car and Paige helped to close it shut, she drove off leaving Paige to stand on the sidewalk, holding herself with a content smile on her face "Here goes everything" she muttered to herself before turning back to the house.

When she returned, she watched Emily holding a sleeping Max while her parents where gathering their belonging and their son toys, Emily was the first to watch her and smile at her, Emily raised a curious eyebrow, silently questioning how did it go with Nina and what was running through Paige's head, but Paige held out her arms and took the one year old into her arms.

When Hanna and Caleb ended gathering everything their turned to give Emily's one last hug, before going out to their car with Paige and their kid, Paige carefully put Max in his car seat and kissed his temple, then she closed the door.

"You ready?" Caleb asked, in a soft voice. He was putting the bags in the trunk.

"As ready one can be" Paige chuckled.

Again she needed some reassurance that she was about to do what was right. He hugged her and whispered encouraging words to her and then he entered the car, Hanna did the same and gave her a slightly swat at her head for being nervous.

Now finally returning once again, Emily held out her hand and Paige latched onto it so easily. They had grown so familiar with each other over the last year, as if the four years they spent apart never happened.

Paige was nervous and that made Emily nervous, but neither woman questioned the air between them that night. They navigated their way into the room, Emily dropped their hands in favor of going to change in the bathroom.

Paige changed quickly into her favorite cami and short set, at the sound of the faucet turned on she entered the master bathroom where Emily was wearing her lace trim satin slip, Paige's heart skipped a beat after seeing her girlfriend in her new nightwear.

Emily smirked after seeing the effect she still had on Paige, it happened every night, and no matter what she was wearing or wasn't wearing.

"Have I thanked you yet for this incredible birthday?" Emily asked.

Paige caught Emily's eye in the mirror with a wry grin "I don't know, maybe once or twice, but why don't you make sure?"

Emily laughed and kissed Paige's cheek and let her finish brushing her teeth's, when she did she placed her toothbrush on the counter and turned to Emily.

"Did you have a good time?" Paige asked uncertainly, her hands touching her arms lightly.

"I did" Emily answered honestly, linking their fingers before turning and leading them to their bedroom. Emily could swear that she was hearing Paige heartbeat, it was so intense and rapid that she began to get a little bit worried so she asked "Are you okay?"

"Well…" Paige drawled, Emily turned down the cover of her side of the bed and entered, and she insisted "well what?" now growing as nervous as Paige was.

Paige stopped momentarily and turned down the comforter and sat on the bed, but quickly as restless as she was, she stood up and reached for something on her side drawer, a rectangular box was in her hand and a shy smile on her face when she walked to the other side of the bed, kneeling at Emily's side.

"Happy birthday Em" Paige said, and went she opened the lid she asked "Em would you marry me?"

Emily gasped softly and already had tears streaming down her face, she didn't gave her answer but she immediately went out of the bed and launched herself onto Paige's arms, squealing yes of happiness, she kissed her senseless, after a couple of minutes the need for air became necessary.

Paige wiped away the remaining tears on Emily's face and smiled at her, pecking her lips softly and carrying her back to bed.

Paige moved onto her side facing Emily.

Emily should have known Paige was nervous for a good reason, and it wasn't a simple reason, she knew how perfect the moment was, she didn't need some over the top proposal, it was powerful and meaningful.

Emily remembered the night where Paige came to her, deciding once and for all that she wanted her, that she was going to cancel the wedding because she was the one, the words she whispered to Paige that night were 'I'm going to marry you someday' she remembered saying and Paige only nodding and smiling like she was right, now this was everything that she hoped for.

"Paige I love you, you've giving me so much that I don't even know where to begin…I know that I messed up before and I don't want to lose you, I want to stay with you forever but I'm afraid of doing something wrong and cause you any more pain" Emily sighed, shaking her head at herself, old insecurities and memories coming in full force making her sad and insecure.

"You don't have to give me anything, Emily, we all make mistakes, even I did when I didn't pick you right away, and we're going to face many problems but we're going to do it together" Paige consoled her, her fingertips lifting up Emily's chin to make eye contact.

Emily smiled after Paige retrieved the ring from the box and placed it on her finger.

"I love you, and you already said yes, so…" Paige grinned cheekily.

"So…" Emily asked not bothering to hide the relieve she felt with Paige's words.

"I think this is the part where you thank me for making your birthday the best in the whole history of birthdays" Paige said and added "there's no way that you could top that"

Emily laughed, her eyes shining with pure unadulterated happiness, and all Paige could do was laugh with her, until she kissed her passionately, their lips connecting in certainty and yet soft and firm kiss.

Emily's hand reached up to pull Paige closer by the back of the neck, the ring pressed in her back made Paige smile, she parted her lips and welcomed her now fiancée's tongue.

Feeling the smile stretch across Emily's face as Paige retreated with a coy smile of her own, made them giggle and kiss again with the same passion. Emily broke the kiss with a soft promise on pink lips as she bowed her head, letting it rest against Paige forehead as she breathed deeply for air, feeling that she was getting everything.

It certainly was one of the best days of their life, it wouldn't be their last, they had to go through their wedding day, their honeymoon, the birth of their future children, plenty of birthdays and anniversaries, plenty of days and nights like this to make them understand that what they have is the best of everything.


End file.
